After the first apology for the killing of Pakistani soldiers, Pakistan will end its seven-month separation from U.S. affairs and will reopen NATO supply routes passing through Pakistan to provide supplies to Afghanistan.
On July 3, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar spoke over the phone and Clinton expressed regret over November’s “wrongful killing” of Pakistani soldiers. This is the first time the American government has officially apologized to Pakistan for the incident.
America’s apology proved to be the biggest obstacle in Pakistan’s reopening of NATO supply lines to Afghani forces. The Pakistani prime minister’s office made a statement announcing that Pakistan decided to reopen supply lines and will not impose additional transit fees.
America Previously Refused to Apologize
After seven months of division, Hillary Clinton called Khar and expressed her regret for the losses Pakistan suffered in the border incident.
After the phone call, Hillary released a statement saying, “Foreign Minister Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives.”
“We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military,” she continues and claims, “We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again.”
In her statement, Hillary again expressed her regret for the death of the Pakistani soldiers and offered condolences to their families.
On November 26, 2011, NATO military aircraft attacked two northeastern Pakistani military checkpoints, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers. U.S. inquiries into the occurrence discovered that Pakistan was the first to open fire. The U.S. then refused to apologize and did not punish the American soldiers involved, leaving Pakistan dissatisfied.
No Additional Transit Fees
On July 3 Pakistan’s minister for information and broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira said, “The meeting of Pakistan’s defense committee (DCC) of the cabinet has decided to reopen the NATO supplies.”
The office of Pakistan’s prime minister confirmed Kaira’s statement: “The DCC stressed that it was in Pakistan’s interest to support the transition and the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan as NATO/ISAF forces drawdown by 2014.
“To enable a smooth transition in Afghanistan it was essential for the military drawdown at a lower cost and through an efficient transit facility” the statement continues, “Pakistan will continue not to charge any transit fee…”
The statement emphasized that Pakistan’s biggest concern is the principle of sovereignty, not financial interests.
Some media outlets previously reported that Pakistan had intentions to considerably increase transit fees for American forces. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khar told Clinton that this would not be the case. In order to “repay” Pakistan’s good intentions, some U.S. officials said the U.S. will unfreeze approximately $1.1 billion in military aid to Pakistan.
The Taliban Threatens Sabotage
On the evening of July 2, the Pakistani Taliban claimed that they would attack NATO transport trucks and “kill” the drivers.
Hours after Pakistan confirmed the reopening of the NATO supply line, Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP reporters that the organization “will not allow any truck to pass and will attack it.”
“We will not only attack the supply truck” he continued, “but will also kill the drivers.”
This is the second time in 10 days the Pakistani Taliban has issued warnings to the NATO supply line. On June 25 they threatened that if Pakistan’s parliament again supported the opening of NATO transport routes in Pakistan during discussions, they and their families would become the Taliban’s next target for attack (Xinhua News Agency report).
The U.S. “Refuses to Submit,” Wastes $700 million
With the road through Pakistan closed, military shipments were forced to find a detour.
Some reports claim the Obama administration was unwilling to apologize because they did not want to give the American people an impression of “diplomatic weakness” and lose ground in an election year. Because of this arrogance, Americans have paid a very high price.
After American troops mistakenly bombed Pakistani soldiers, Pakistan resolutely closed the U.S. supply routes leading to Afghanistan, forcing American soldiers and military cargo to find a detour through Central Asia into Afghanistan. As U.S. Secretary of Defense Panetta previously stated, this has cost the U.S. an additional $100 million per month. After careful consideration and extensive talks between U.S. and Pakistani senior officials, the U.S. was at last forced to back down and offer an official apology to the Pakistani government and people.
Some analysts believe that the U.S.’ apology did not quite meet Pakistan’s expectations; the Obama administration feared a “sincere” apology to Pakistan would cause the U.S. Republican party to “revolt.” However, the few little words, “we are sorry” could nonetheless have saved the U.S. large amounts of money.
U.S. Senator John Kerry’s former assistant Jonah Blank told AFP reporters, “Three little words — ‘We are sorry.’ If they’d been delivered seven months ago, they might have saved hundreds of millions of dollars.”
On the evening of July 3, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed Pakistan’s announcement of reopening of NATO supply routes through it into Afghanistan. He claimed this decision demonstrates Pakistan’s strengthened cooperation with NATO (Xinhua News Agency special report).
Focus on: 10,000 Truck Drivers Wait for Reopened Routes to Get Back to Work
Once Americans apologized, more than 10,000 Pakistani truck drivers breathed a sigh of relief; they once again can make their living by transporting NATO supplies.
Along the transport route in Karachi, Pakistan, hundreds of trucks had already been stopped for six months or more. With nothing left to do, the drivers had nothing to do to pass the time but clean and wash their trucks.
“We were unemployed for a long time,” 45-year old truck driver Hassan said, “Many vehicles broke down due to prolonged parking.”
However, following Hillary’s “I’m sorry,” Hassan felt hopeful: “Now we shall have our livelihood again.”
But Hassan also said that if it wasn’t necessary for making a living, he wouldn’t be willing to transport NATO military cargo; the route is too dangerous. The NATO transport route traveling from Pakistan to Afghanistan passes through rural areas, where there is a high level of anti-American sentiments. The Pakistani Taliban has often made attacks along this road.
The president of the All Pakistan Oil Tankers Owners Association Akram Khan Durrani said that although it is positive news for over 10,000 drivers, he also urges the Pakistani government to provide more protection to ensure the drivers safety.
“The government should issue a regulation under which all NATO supply vehicles have a different color and are given security cover…” Akram said.
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