Nineteen NATO supply containers crossed the Chaman border into Afghanistan on Tuesday after clearance by Customs officials, but tens of Afghanistan-bound oil tankers due to resume oil supply on Tuesday could not leave Karachi due to logistical and other issues. Sources said tankers carrying oil for NATO forces faced delays as the checkpost supposed to secure the tankers have not been set up as yet. Also, oil companies have not supplied oil to the tankers so far. The All Pakistan Oil Tankers Owners Association (APOTOA) general secretary has demanded clearance of previous dues before the oil tankers left for Afghanistan for renewed supply. He also demanded additional security to tankers carrying oil for NATO forces. APOTOA-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Nasir Khan had earlier said that the supply would resume from July 17. Pakistan reopened overland routes to NATO forces in Afghanistan on July 3 after keeping them shut for seven months to protest a US air raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. NATO traffic across the border has so far been minimal, with only a few trucks having crossed into Afghanistan since the routes were reopened. Officials in Karachi said a dispute over the payment of damages for thousands of containers blockaded for seven months, which has led to sluggish overland supplies, could be resolved this week.
