NATO supplies: Sharif in a tight spot

The controversial CIA-controlled covert drone strikes in Pakistan has put this Muslim nation in an awkward position as Americans have rejected repeated calls from the government and the Parliament for a halt to such attacks.
The government has publicly accused Washington of sabotaging its plan of holding peace talks with the Taleban when a US spy aircraft rained missiles into North Waziristan tribal region and killed Taleban chief Hakimullah Mehsud on Nov. 1.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan later said the long- anticipated peace process with the Taleban could not be initiated unless the US stops drone attacks. Days after Mehsud’s death, the Taleban refused to talk to the government and announced they will conduct revenge attacks, dashing hopes for a possible peace deal.
A statement from Pakistan’s top security adviser, Sartaj Aziz, last week said that the US government promise not to carry out drone attacks during earlier peace talks raised some hopes to end the deadlock with the Taleban. However, a day after Aziz’s remarks, a US unmanned aircraft struck a religious school on Nov. 21 in the country’s northwest and killed six students and their teachers.
The attack greatly embarrassed the government. Some opposition parties and Islamic groups exerted pressure on the government to cut supply line for the US-led NATO troops in protest to force Washington to review its drone mission in Pakistan.The ruling coalition partners in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, part of the main supply route to Afghanistan, decided this week to stop NATO trucks from passing through the province.
They have now set up camps along roads at various locations and regularly searched trucks loaded with NATO supplies and sent them back. Imran Khan, chief of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in the province, said the provincial government couldn’t guarantee security of the containers carrying NATO supplies. The forced halt to the NATO trucks causes embarrassment for the federal government since it has an agreement that allows supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan to pass through Pakistan.
US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbin has urged Pakistan to ensure smooth passage of NATO supplies as provided for in a bilateral agreement. Sharif is facing a serious challenge just few months after he assumed power at a time when the country was dealing with major problems of terrorism, worst energy shortage and fragile economy. The situation is a tough test for Sharif who has to balance the need to maintain cordial ties with Washington and to deal with a growing anti-US sentiment in Pakistan caused by continuing drone attacks.

- Xinhua News Agency