AT LAST SUPPLY ROUTE FOR NATO REOPENED

After embarrassment, the Government had reopened the NATO supply route from Karachi to Afghanistan transporting essential commodities to the NATO troops belonging to dozens of major countries of the world. We opposed the Government decision to make the NATO supply route a public issue taking it to Parliament, Parliamentary committees, and to the Jihadis and extremists instead of keeping it an administrative issue. In all these months, the issue was deliberately handed over to the extremists and fascist elements to use it to bash the United States as if Pakistan was going to war with the USA, sooner or later. Visibly, the political leadership in the Government remained in the sideline and supported the stand of security establishment as it is considered an issue of national security. The Jihadis and extremist elements had hurled threats that they will organize suicide attacks on the convoys if the NATO Supply Route was reopened. Mr. Tsunami Khan and his rightwing allies were on the forefront in heightening tensions and heat in politics on this issue at the same time news channels at the behest of others organize talks show propagating anti-Americanism as if the relations with Washington will not be repaired and restored to normal condition. In any case, it is good decision though delayed. It will help repair our relations at time when the West had successfully isolated Pakistan from rest of the world and at the same time it faced a serious economic and financial crisis in absence of aid flow from the United States. General Kayani played the key role and he held talks with General Allen, the Commander of ISAF in Afghanistan who expressed his personal regrets over the Salala Check Post incidents. General Kayani agreed to open the NATO Supply route. General Kayani and General Wyne participated in the DCC meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister in which it was formally announced that Pakistan will reopen the NATO Supply Route. With the sane decision, there are high hopes that Pakistan will meet other challenges, mainly economic and financial challenges, after receiving substantial economic and financial assistance from the United States in shape of the Coalition Support Fund. According to initial reports in the media, the US will provide 1.1 billion US dollar Coalition Support Fund to Pakistan immediately to tide over its economic and financial difficulties. All sections of the Pakistani society, mainly all elements in the Government had felt the pain of financial crunch and they were desperate to take the country out of this serious financial crunch. It was possible only by repairing the relations with the United States, the Financial Super Power of the World besides a military power. No other country had the capacity to provide liberal funds to Pakistan to take the country out of the present economic difficulties. We hope that the Government and its institutions will stop US bashing, directly or indirectly, repair Pakistan’s relations with the United States in order to preserve its sovereignty and integrity first and later the economic prosperity of the people in general. Our Government should think about the people and the country as a whole instead of narrow interests of a section of the people in the Government. We also hope that the issue of Drone attacks on the Pakistani territory will stop and the Government of Pakistan and US will reach an agreement to fight back all terrorists, regardless of their affiliation. It is our responsibility to disallow the foreign or local terrorists using our sanctuaries in attacking the ISAF inside Afghanistan. Rather, the Pakistan Government should take a bold step by expelling all the foreign terrorists and eliminating the local ones without any delay. We should not threaten world peace by patronizing one brand of terrorist or the other. They should all be treated equally and at par and their activities be curbed with immediate effect in the interest of regional peace and security.