All containers passing through Pakistan to supply NATO troops in Afghanistan are to be scanned to ensure they do not contain ammunition and weapons, customs officials said Friday. Islamabad reopened overland routes to NATO convoys earlier this week after closing them in protest at a US air raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at a border post in November. A number of trucks have already crossed into Afghanistan, but the vast majority are still at the Arabian Sea port of Karachi, where they have stood idle for the past seven months.
“We scanned the containers randomly in the past, but now every container will be duly scanned,” Karachi customs spokesman Qamar Thalho said. He said any item “not mentioned in the agreements between Pakistan and Afghanistan and Pakistan and NATO” could be seized. An official speaking on condition of anonymity said the move was intended to stymie opposition parties and religious groups — who have criticised the resumption of supplies. “A strict scanning of the cargo is just one important measure not to give enough space to the opposition to exploit public sentiments,” the official said.
