Pakistan reopens access to Afghanistan for NATO

Trucks with supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan on Thursday will resume their routes through neighboring Pakistan after Islamabad agreed to end its blockade of seven months, security officials said. The implementation of the supply agreement could help repair some relationships between the U.S. and Pakistan, which is crucial to U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, but both continue to have important differences. U.S. officials hoped that the trucks began to cross into Afghanistan on Wednesday, but bureaucratic delays prevented it. Pakistan agreed Tuesday to reopen the supply line for NATO to Afghanistan after the U.S. apologized for U.S. airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November. The incident severely damaged bilateral relations, already strained, and caused that Pakistan shut the route. Pakistan's cabinet Wednesday endorsed the decision to reopen the paths taken by high civil and military authorities. The plan of Pakistan allows the passage of four trucks to Afghanistan through the Chaman crossing in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, according to a Pakistani security document obtained by The Associated Press. Chaman is one of two crosses used to send NATO supplies heading to Afghanistan. One hundred vehicles were also ready to start its journey from the southern port of Karachi to Chaman and Torkham, the other crossing in the Khyber tribal area in the northwest, according to the document. Customs authorities and security authorized the passage of two trucks at the border on Wednesday, but the station closed at sunset, before they could pass, said security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they lacked authorized to speak to reporters. Trucks are expected to eventually cross at 9 am on Thursday, when the crossing reopens, they added. Two other trucks still awaiting authorization at Chaman. U.S. will save hundreds of millions of dollars, since the blockade had forced NATO to send supplies to Afghanistan through trails in northern Pakistan, more expensive. Both sides acknowledged having made mistakes that led to the deaths, said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It was the first time a U.S. official formally apologized for the deaths, a move hotly debated within the administration of President Barack Obama and demanded by Pakistan during the seven months that were closed supply routes. So far Washington had insisted that everything was an accident and refused to apologize. However, the deal carries risks for both governments. It is almost certain that the Pakistani authorities face a negative internal reaction as anti-American sentiment prevailing in the country and the government's inability to force the White House to stop drone attacks and accept other demands of Parliament. Moreover, the Pakistani Taliban promised to attack the supply trucks and called the government in Islamabad to be a slave to America. For his part, Obama risks criticism from Republicans, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who says the government is too quick to apologize for foreign affairs. Washington is much grief to Pakistan because of the alleged support that gives the country to extremists fighting against NATO forces in Afghanistan.