Pakistan ready to reopen Afghan supply lines after apology from U.S
The Obama administration says Pakistan is reopening supply lines into Afghanistan after the U.S. issued an apology for the November killing of 24 Pakistani troops in a NATO airstrike.
Clinton says she told Pakistan’s foreign minister in a telephone conversation that the U.S. is “sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military.” She says both sides acknowledged mistakes that resulted in deaths.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a telephone call with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, reportedly apologized for a November NATO air strike which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last November and prompted an infuriated Islamabad to slam the supply routes closed.
“We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military. We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again,” Clinton said in a statement following the conversation.
Khar, in turn, informed Clinton that Pakistan would reopen the supply routes and, in a major concession to the United States, would not follow through on threats to dramatically hike the transit fees as stated in AP reports.
The deal, which came after several previous attempts at negotiation had failed, opened the prospect of broader improvement in U.S.-Pakistan ties.
