FROM KARACHI TO KABUL: UNSAFE HIGHWAYS – Sindh, Balochistan home depts ordered to secure NATO supply route

KARACHI – Declaring the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) supply route from Karachi to Kabul for the allied forces in Afghanistan unsafe, the federal government has asked the home departments of Sindh and Balochistan to adopt a foolproof security plan for the itinerary, sources in the Sindh Home Department told Pakistan Today.
They said that the NATO supply route is under attack by unidentified suspects, whereas goods transporters are being uncooperative with the Pakistani government and blackmailing it, posing a serious threat to NATO forces in Afghanistan.
The government’s strategies in this regard are seemingly fruitless, and after the attacks on the 1,089-kilometre long itinerary, the authorities have declared the route unsafe.
The Pakistani Interior Ministry has sent a letter to the Sindh and Balochistan home departments asking them to take strict measures to protect the route. The letter said that any interruption in supply of goods could result in the failure of the NATO forces in Afghanistan.
A single armoured vehicle of the armed forces consumes around 29 gallons of oil daily. Ninety percent of daily-use items and petroleum products to over 60,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan are supplied through the Karachi Port via Chaman.
This transport business involves four companies and more than 3,000 tankers to ship fuel tankers to Afghanistan. The Al-Haj Group has engaged 1,000 of its tankers to ship fuel to Kabul; the Mengal Brothers 1,500; Spinners 500; and Bilal Company 50.
Between 100 and 150 truckloads of foodstuffs and oil travel through this supply route every day from Karachi to Afghanistan where 12,000 NATO troops are stationed. Delay in supplying the goods from Pakistan could cause the NATO forces severe losses.
Sources claimed that this crucial itinerary always runs into problems when transporters use different methods for pressurising the government into meeting their demands.