Supply routes to be restored only if NATO apologises: Ahmad Mukhtar

Defence Minister says Shamsi Air Base will be vacated by December 11.

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar said on Wednesday that the supply routes for Nato troops will be restored only if Nato apologises for the “unprovoked attack” that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, Express News reported.

Mukhtar also said that Shamsi Airbase will be vacated by December 11 and no drone planes would be allowed to fly from the base after that.

Earlier in a Cabinet Defence committee meeting, Pakistan had decided to ask the US to leave Shamsi Air Base within 15 days and blocked ground supply routes through Pakistan to US forces in Afghanistan.

Washington was sent notices to vacate the narrow strip located in Balochistan following the deadly Nato attack.

Three sources, who declined to be identified because of the issue’s sensitivity, said that US planning was under way to leave the base.

The cross-border incident escalated tensions between the two countries and the US military is conducting an investigation to find out exactly what happened on the ground. The moves by the Pakistanis to block ground supply routes and the air base were not expected to significantly hinder US operations.