Pakistan: NATO Blockade May Last for Several Weeks

Prime Minister Warns US of 'Credibility Gap'

Speaking today in an interview with the BBC, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani denied rumors of a coup d’etat, but warned that relations between the US and Pakistan remain tense, which he blamed on a “credibility gap” that exists between the two nations.

Gilani also addressed the ongoing blockade of NATO war supplies into Afghanistan, saying that the border was likely to remain closed for several additional weeks. Pakistan closed the border in late November after US warplanes attacked a pair of Pakistani military bases, killing 24 soldiers.

It is not unusual for Pakistan to close the border in response to tensions with NATO, but such efforts are often very short-term, and the companies have kept the Pakistani truck drivers with their trucks, under the assumption that the border would reopen soon.

Since the closure, NATO has had to rely on the much more expensive northern route through Russia for supplies, but even this route is in question now with Russia warning it may be closed over a dispute on missile defense systems in Europe.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.