US may dump Pak for 'safer' Russian route for NATO supplies to Afghanistan

[ganesh177]

US may dump Pak for 'safer' Russian route for NATO supplies to Afghanistan

Lahore, Oct 6 (ANI): In a move that would hurt Pakistan in financial terms, the Centcom high command has decided to open an alternate supply route for NATO convoys carrying supplies to Afghanistan via Russia and central Asia, following the blockage of the main land route at Torkham on the Pak-Afghan border.ell informed diplomatic sources in Islamabad disclosed that the Centcom's decision to choose the alternate supply route to Afghanistan was prompted by Pakistan's refusal to give a timeline for the resumption of the NATO supplies, which remain suspended for a full week now, The News reported.

Buzz up!
According to the sources, the alternate supply route starts in the Latvian port of Riga, the largest all-weather harbour on the Baltic Sea, where container ships offload their cargo onto Russian trains.


Earlier, Pakistan had blocked the key route for convoys carrying supplies for NATO in Afghanistan in retaliation against cross-border air strikes by the US-led allied forces, in one of which three Pakistani soldiers were killed.

However, the suspension of the ISAF and NATO supplies was not the only action taken by the Pakistani authorities. According to diplomatic sources, the decision makers in Rawalpindi and Islamabad further decided to claim 600 million dollars from the forces as compensation for causing damage to Pakistan's extensive road network, maintaining that the country was suffering a huge loss of around 83 million dollars annually, due to the ISAF and NATO freight truckloads badly damaging the national highways network for the last seven years.

Nevertheless, ignoring the Pakistan demand for payment of compensation, the Centcom high command decided to open an alternate supply route to Afghanistan via Russia and central Asia.

While previously Russia had only allowed the United States to ship non-lethal military supplies across its territory by train, it was actually in July 2010 that the Americans finally convinced the Russians to let them use the particular supply route, the paper said.

The move is seen as an important development in diplomatic circles, because it signals Russian willingness to indirectly support the US-led NATO/ISAF forces stationed in Afghanistan. (ANI)

US may dump Pak for 'safer' Russian route for NATO supplies to Afghanistan - Oneindia News

US may opt for Russian route for Nato supplies

 

[Ray]

This will not auger well for Pakistan's economy or arm twisting for more weapons!

The terrorist organisation will have cold feet as Drones, helicopters and fighters will rain down lethal TNT on them!

 

[neo29]

This move will probably harm Pakistan's strategy to play both sides. Already its a well known fact that elements inside Pak establishment and army are providing intel about the supply routes of NATO to Taliban.

 

[amoy]

Centcom's decision to choose the alternate supply route to Afghanistan was prompted by Pakistan's refusal to give a timeline for the resumption of the NATO supplies, which remain suspended for a full week now

guess PAK will quickly bend for that and resume...

 

[thakur_ritesh]

guess PAK will quickly bend for that and resume...

Infact they have already resumed, and the talk of compensation is nothing but hot air.


One thing is for sure and that isit will for sure reduce pakistan's bargaining capabilities significantly, till now on the basis of the transit facility being provided Pakistan was decently well placed to negotiate with the US/NATO but once that gets replaced the utility of Pakistan diminishes.

Their army is as such a rent fighting force put on cocaine so they will anyways suck upto all that is thrown their way for whom the money they mint at the end of the day is of much more significance and its not as if they have any real pride that they are going to look other ways, also the kind of support that the US provides to Pakistan, china or some other country is not even ready to minutely play that role and on top of all that there are those numerous loans taken from imf, wb which happens to be the sustaining lifeline for Pakistan and those institutions are another arm of the west so if Pakistan was to show eyes then who would fill the void that could put Pakistan completely on the mat and make their very survival at stake and incase Pakistan was to act a little too smart then the US has in the past also been having some discussions with the northern alliance in a'stan which if it were to happen would certainly be good news for india and that would be the worst night mare of pakistanis.

I think other than posturing just to please the senses of average Pakistanis, Pakistan really has nothing in it to do that goes contrary to the will of their masters, the Americans!

 

[Iamanidiot]

there are only two routes

a)Wakhon Corridor (Chinese aren't willing to give supplies through this route)

b)From Iran through Zaranj-Delaram highway in Afghanistan

 

[ganesh177]

The US was keen to secure three different alternative supply routes for Afghanistan.


The first one is the northern route that starts in the Latvian port of Riga, the largest all-weather harbour on the Baltic Sea, where container ships offload their cargo onto Russian trains. The shipments can then go south through Russia, then southeast around the Caspian Sea through Kazakhstan and finally south through Uzbekistan until they cross the frontier into north Afghanistan.

The second alternative is the southern route that transits the Caucuses, completely bypassing Russia, from Georgia. Starting from the Black Sea port, Ponti, it travels north to Azerbaijan and its port, Baku. Landfall is Kazakhstan, where the goods are carried by trucks to Uzbekistan and finally Afghanistan.

A third one is a spur of the northern route and it bypasses Uzbekistan and proceeds from Kazakhstan via Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which has a north east border with Afghanistan. But this route is hampered by bad road conditions in Tajikistan.

Attacks on NATO trucks could see alternate route to Afghanistan

 

[pmaitra]

Ok, let us examine all the routes available:

• Through Pakistan (not safe anymore)
• Through Wakhan Corridor from East Turkestan (under Chinese occupation and sees frequent ethnic violence, can't be called safe but safer than Pakistan)
• Through Iran (Chabahar) where India was supposedly building a railway to connect to Afghansitan from whence the Zaranj-Delaram road will take the supplies to Kabul. (safe but US is at loggerheads with Iran)
• Through Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and perhaps Tajikistan. (safe and US needs to soften it's rhetoric against the Russian Federation)

The US has little option in this regard.

Below is the map of the CIS Rail Network for reference: