Stranded Pakistani Truckers Back NATO Supply Blockade

Companies Keep Truckers With Their Vehicles

Reports out of one of the many terminals filled with NATO supply trucks stuck in Pakistan since the government ordered the border closed showed strong support for the closure among the truck drivers, who companies have ordered to stay with their trucks.

We risk our lives and take these supplies to Afghanistan for NATO, and in return they are killing our soldiers,” noted one of the drivers. Pakistan closed the border after the November 26 US attack on a pair of their military bases in Mohmand Agency.

The attack, which killed 24 soldiers, has fueled even stronger anti-US sentiments nationwide, and cost NATO one of its two land routes into Afghanistan. The other route, north through Russia, is also in peril amid disputes over the missile defense shield.

But despite the blockade moving into its third week, the truck drivers have been ordered by the companies they work for to remain with their cargo, a sign that they believe the supplies will soon flow again. Pakistan’s government has made no indication of when or even if they will reopen the supply route.

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.