Nato supply routes: Centcom chief to visit Pakistan in 10 days
Top US military commander General James Mattis has said he will be visiting Pakistan.
WASHINGTON:
Top US military commander General James Mattis has said he will be visiting Pakistan in the next 10 days to discuss the reopening of Nato supply routes.
Testifying at a hearing of the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Gen Mattis said that the US did need ground lines through Pakistan, and said he would be meeting Pakistani officials on his trip there in 10 days. The US is currently sending supplies to Afghanistan partly by air, sea and through the Northern Distribution Network, Gen Mattis said.
Talking about Pakistan’s pending parliamentary review of bilateral relations, Gen Mattis said that he remained optimistic that they would make progress. Relations remain tense between both countries following a Nato airstrike on November 26, last year that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
Gen Mattis said that cooperation with Pakistan continues on the Pakistan-Afghan border, even after the Nato airstrikes. While there is still friction, standard operating procedures have been exchanged in border operations with Pakistan, he added.
In response to a question on Pakistan controlling the flow of ammonium nitrate, used to make improvised explosive devices, Gen Mattis said that while it has been an area of frustration, the US has had serious dialogue with Pakistan on the subject.
“[Pakistan] has passed laws to enable the [authorities] to make arrests they could not make before and have put together a counter-IED strategy,” the general said, adding that he was optimistic about progress in this regard.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 7th, 2012.
Top US military commander General James Mattis has said he will be visiting Pakistan in the next 10 days to discuss the reopening of Nato supply routes.
Testifying at a hearing of the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Gen Mattis said that the US did need ground lines through Pakistan, and said he would be meeting Pakistani officials on his trip there in 10 days. The US is currently sending supplies to Afghanistan partly by air, sea and through the Northern Distribution Network, Gen Mattis said.
Talking about Pakistan’s pending parliamentary review of bilateral relations, Gen Mattis said that he remained optimistic that they would make progress. Relations remain tense between both countries following a Nato airstrike on November 26, last year that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
Gen Mattis said that cooperation with Pakistan continues on the Pakistan-Afghan border, even after the Nato airstrikes. While there is still friction, standard operating procedures have been exchanged in border operations with Pakistan, he added.
In response to a question on Pakistan controlling the flow of ammonium nitrate, used to make improvised explosive devices, Gen Mattis said that while it has been an area of frustration, the US has had serious dialogue with Pakistan on the subject.
“[Pakistan] has passed laws to enable the [authorities] to make arrests they could not make before and have put together a counter-IED strategy,” the general said, adding that he was optimistic about progress in this regard.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 7th, 2012.