NATO GLOC: Panetta says US will not be price ‘gouged’

Amidst seemingly deadlocked negotiations between the US and Pakistan over NATO supply routes or the GLOC (Ground Lines of Communication) as these have been called recently, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta vowed on Sunday not to let Washington be ‘gouged’ by Islamabad on the price it charges for overland deliveries of American military supplies to Afghanistan.

The statement which is likely to further incense Pakistani officials follows months of gingerly steps by the US to make up with Islamabad. Pakistan had closed the land route to Nato supplies in November as punishment for the Nato air strike in Mohmand Agency that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

US defence officials have said the Pakistanis are demanding several thousand dollars for every truck crossing its border with the supplies, up from $250 per truck before the closure.

Read details: The Express Tribune

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US - Pakistan near deal on reopening supply lines

Pakistan and the United States appeared on the verge of clinching an agreement to reopen ground supply lines into Afghanistan, a U.S. official said, as Islamabad confirmed its president will attend a summit of NATO leaders this weekend in Chicago.

Reopening the supply route would be a major breakthrough in ties between Washington and Islamabad. Strained relations have fuelled speculation Pakistan might be excluded from NATO talks on Afghanistan’s future.

Pakistan closed down the supply lines for the Afghan war effort following the NATO air strike in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Read details: euronews

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No US disciplinary action seen over Salala attack

The US military is not planning to discipline any of its forces over a cross-border skirmish last year that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead and plunged Washington-Islamabad ties to their lowest point in years, a US military official said on Saturday.         

A US military investigation last year had already exonerated American troops operating in Afghanistan from inappropriate use of force against the Pakistani forces – even as the US military acknowledged some of the blame in the incident.

The US military official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, did not offer further details about the subsequent decision not to discipline US forces.

Read details: Express Tribune

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