(11 Jul 2012) STORYLINE
Bureaucratic delays have largely held up shipments to troops in Afghanistan via its eastern neighbour, Pakistani officials said on Wednesday, a week after Islamabad reopened US and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) supply lines.
So far, less than a handful of supply trucks have crossed the border, which Pakistan closed to the convoys last November after American airstrikes accidentally killed 24 Pakistani border troops.
The trucks have been waiting in Karachi for months and need maintenance and proper customs clearance before any movement can take place, officials and drivers say.
Islamabad agreed to reopen the supply routes on July 3, after months of negotiations and a US apology over the incident.
Two trucks carrying supplies to US and NATO troops passed through the Chaman border crossing in the southern province of Baluchistan last Thursday, but a Pakistani customs official said that no other trucks have crossed since then.
Four trucks from the port city of Karachi arrived at the border on Wednesday and are expected to cross on Thursday, the official added.
Chaman is one of two border crossings used to transport NATO supplies.
Trucks have yet to pass at Torkham, the second crossing, a regional official in northern Pakistan said.
Since official resumption of the supply route, not a single fuel truck has left either of the two main ports in Karachi, said Israr Shinwari, president of the All Pakistan Tankers Association.
Shinwari blamed bureaucracy for the delay, saying that procedures and paperwork must be completed before goods and fuel can even be loaded on the trucks.
He said 2,000 tankers were ready to move as soon as they receive instructions and complete documentation.
Goods shipments appeared likely to resume before fuel supply, Shinwari said, with the tankers expected to move in about a week.
Pakistan is a notoriously bureaucratic country where obtaining permissions or processing paperwork can take a frustratingly long time.
Before the closure, about 150 to 200 trucks carrying NATO supplies crossed the border daily.
Few expected shipments to reach those numbers immediately after Pakistan reopened the supply lines, and the delay did not seem to reflect a change of heart on the side of the Pakistani government.
Security also seemed to play a role in the delay.
Anti-American sentiment in Pakistan is high, and protests have taken place against the decision to reopen the supply line.
One truck driver in Karachi acknowledged that the ongoing anti-NATO protests were a concern.
"There are protests against the supply. The religious forces are not accepting this (decision). We are very concerned over the situation," said Azeemullah, who like many people in the country uses a single name.
The Taliban and other militant groups have also threatened to attack trucks carrying NATO supplies.
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