Supplies continuing through other routes: US

WASHINGTON: The US State Department said on Wednesday that supplies to Afghanistan were continuing through alternative routes.

The State Department said the US favours using Pakistani overland routes for retrograde movement of equipment out of Afghanistan and voiced the hope that the current situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with regard to the Torkham route will not have a long-term impact.

“We favour shipping cargo via Pakistan because of the cost. And hopefully, I don’t anticipate that there will be any long-term impact on our retrograde movement because of the current situation,” Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf said at the daily briefing.

She was responding to a question about the viability of Pakistani Ground Lines for Communication (GLOCs) for US shipments of equipment as the US, currently moving cargo out of landlocked Afghanistan in view of the 2014 drawdown, temporarily suspended shipments through the Torkham Pass.

In answer to another question, the spokesperson said US Special Representative James Dobbins is visiting Afghanistan as part of his regular regional consultations.

Earlier, the US military suspended Nato shipments of equipment out of Afghanistan through Pakistan, citing protests that posed a risk to truck drivers, officials said.