NATO supplies from Pakistani airspace never stopped: Pentagon

A Pentagon official said that the air supply routes for NATO forces in Afghanistan were never closed by Pakistan.
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little during a briefing on Thursday said “only ground lines of communications were closed following the November 26 incident” adding that these ground routes had not been reopened yet. “We are hopeful that they would be reopened soon,” he observed while conceding that it is a decision for the Pakistani government to make.
“Pakistan had closed down these routes in protest after the November 26 NATO airstrikes on Salala check-post in Mohmand Agency that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers”.
It may be mentioned here that following the closure of ground supply routes from Pakistan, United States has shifted the bulk of supply for NATO forces in Afghanistan through the northern supply routes from Central Asian states. “Although this route proves costlier for US, but at present almost 70 percent of NATO supplies are being transported through this route”.
In a separate briefing, US State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland was asked about Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson s statement that the US authorities and their embassy in Islamabad had been apprised of concerns over the discussion on Balochistan in Washington. Ms. Nuland, however, expressed ignorance about any such development. “I am unaware about this. We have not been intimated anything officially by Pakistan in this regard,” she pointed out.
A subcommittee of the US Congress Foreign Relations Committee had held a hearing on the killings and human rights violations in Balochistan on Wednesday. The State Department spokesperson, though, had distanced the administration from the said hearing on Wednesday as well in response to another question.
“The Congress holds hearings on many foreign affairs topics. These hearings don’t necessarily imply that the US government endorses one view or another view. I would underscore that the State Department is not participating or involved in this hearing,” she had argued while clearly stating that the US administration was not supporting demands for an independent Balochistan.