Nato supplies of military vehicles from Karachi Port are suspended for last 20 days for a number of reasons including unavailability of trucks, sources at Karachi Port Trust (KPT) told Business Recorder on Friday. "The exact reason for the halt in supplies could not be ascertained as there may be security concerns but there is an acute shortage of trucks to transport Nato military vehicles to Afghanistan," they added.
Earlier, security threats halted the supplies of Nato armoured vehicles after the anti-Islam film agitation spread across the country. However, subsequently, supplies resumed, which according to sources continued until mid-October. "A week before Eid-ul-Azha, all supplies from the Karachi Port stopped as drivers, crewmembers of trucks went on leave to celebrate Eid in their hometowns and cities," they said.
Since then, no supply resumed from the Karachi Port until now, they said, adding that the resumption of transportation to Nato forces can not be predicted at this point in time. They said the other reason may be the security threat to the armoured vehicles as a truck carrying military supplies to Nato had been set ablaze in Karachi recently. They said the causes of the supply suspension could be more than one.
Pakistan serves as a chief seaport-country that caters to Afghanistan's supplies through its land routes. The country transports some 50 percent of the total supplies of the Nato including cargo, fuel and military vehicles, according to sources. Over 6,000 trucks and tankers are engaged in the cross-border supplies for these groups with at least 18,000 people including drivers and aides. The number of those workers at either side of the border working for loading and discharging of cargo and fuel are additional, which also amounts to thousands.