Gunmen in Pakistan attacked and set fire to 20 trucks transporting supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan on Wednesday, police said, the latest in a series of attacks on the logistical backbone of the war in Afghanistan. The attacks come amid mounting anger in Pakistan over repeated incursions by NATO helicopters from Afghanistan, one of which killed three Pakistani soldiers. Angered by the cross-border strikes, Pakistan has blocked one of two supply routes for the NATO troops, vital for the war effort in Afghanistan. Wednesday's attack on fuel tankers took place along the other, unblocked route. Here are some questions and answers on the long logistical chain as it snakes through Pakistan, carrying everything from military equipment to fuel for the tens of thousands of troops in Afghanistan. n Where do the routes pass? There are two routes through Pakistan into Afghanistan. The one that was closed off goes through the Khyber Pass in northwest Pakistan to the border town of Torkham and on to Kabul. That is the easiest land route for supplies and military equipment into Afghanistan, by ship to the Pakistani port of Karachi, and then by truck through Pakistan and into Afghanistan. The other passes through Pakistan's Baluchistan province to the border town of Chaman and on to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. The US military and NATO have not given precise details of the supplies they get via Pakistan or a breakdown of how much comes on the two routes. The US Defense Department says the US military sends 75 percent of supplies for the Afghan war through or over Pakistan, including 40 percent of fuel. Sensitive gear such as ammunition, weapons and critical equipment is flown in, the Pentagon says. n Will the closure damage the NATO alliance in Afghanistan? The rare closure of the border points to tensions between the United States, which leads NATO troops in Afghanistan, and Pakistan, a frontline state in the American war on militancy. Closing the border underscored the leverage Pakistan has over Washington as US troops struggle to contain a raging Taliban insurgency before a withdrawal starts in July 2011. While analysts say the closure of the supply route to Afghanistan is not expected to have a serious impact because NATO had all along anticipted disruptions and had stockpiled supplies, it could exacerbate political tensions Pakistan has said it would consider “response options” if NATO forces continued to violate its sovereignty. A simultaneous escalation of attacks by unmanned drone aircraft in September to a record monthly high of 21 since the attacks began in 2008 has made the Pakistanis more sensitive to issues of sovereignty. Pakistan, however, is unlikely to keep the border shut for an extended period, aware that it cannot afford to antagonize an ally which provides $2 billion in military aid a year. Keeping foreign money flowing here may be more important than ever as Pakistan tries to recover from summer floods that inflicted billions of dollars in damage. n What's the alternative? Taliban militant attacks had already forced the United States and other Western forces to look for alternatives through Central Asia and Russia into northern Afghanistan. The Northern Distribution Network (NDN), as the United States refers to it, was launched in 2009. It involves Russia, Latvia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Also, the United States operates a military air base in Kyrgyzstan which serves as an important support hub for Afghan operations as well as an aircraft refuelling point.
