Khar favours ending NATO supply route blockade

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said she personally believes that NATO supply routes through Pakistan, which have remained closed for almost six months now, should be reopened. Khar, talking to journalists while returning from London, said the decision to block the supply routes was correct, taking into account the Salala strikes and the US’ Abbottabad incursion, reports The Express Tribune.However, Khar was hesitant to even give a timeframe for the re-opening of the NATO supply routes, adding that negotiations are under way and that “goodwill” was needed. According to the paper, Khar also rubbished the chances of sanctions being slapped on Pakistan because of the blockade and also negated reports that the US has declined to apologise to Pakistan for tha Salala attacks. NATO and ISAF supplies, she said, should not be seen in the context of relations with the US. After all both are umbrella organisations for over 40 countries, including “close friends” such as Turkey and the UK. The UK and the US have the same objectives in Afghanistan, she said, adding that only the latter that seems to have issues with Pakistan, while the former has no such problems. A joint statement issued after a meeting between British and Pakistani prime ministers recently quoted David Cameron as saying that “Pakistan’s enemy is an enemy of the UK”, and vice versa.