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NATO supply route temporarily shut to hunt Taliban

* Authorities seal supply route through Khyber Pass
* Tribesmen end five-day blockade of Chaman route

PESHAWAR: Authorities on Wednesday cut off supplies to NATO and United States forces in Afghanistan via the Khyber Pass, as security forces expanded Operation Darghalam against the Taliban in Khyber Agency, officials said.

The move to shut down the route through the Tribal Areas - the main road used by NATO supply convoys - came after the southwest road to Afghanistan reopened following a five-day blockade by local tribesmen.

The security forces ordered Wednesday’s closure of the Khyber Pass as they expanded the offensive, first launched about two weeks ago, to flush out the Taliban entrenched in hideouts along the road.

The operation was intensified after a series of attacks on depots in and around Peshawar, in which hundreds of vehicles used to ferry supplies to NATO and US forces in Afghanistan were torched.

“The NATO supply route has been temporarily suspended,” Khyber administration official Rahat Gul told AFP.

A security official told AFP the military offensive had been expanded from the town of Jamrud, the gateway to the Khyber Pass, into the neighbouring town of Landikotal, where a curfew was also imposed on Wednesday.

Landikotal residents told AFP they had been told not to leave their homes, via announcements made using the loudspeakers in local mosques.

“This is the mopping-up stage of the operation,” the official said, adding that the border crossing at Torkham had been sealed off, prompting the closure of the Peshawar-Torkham highway. Six homes used by the terrorists were demolished on Wednesday, he said.

Chaman: Meanwhile, police said the tribesmen ended a five-day blockade of the southwestern Chaman route into Afghanistan. The protests were staged over the killing of a local man in a drugs raid.

Hundreds of trucks and tankers had been stranded since Friday along the highway between Quetta and Chaman town due to the blockade. afp

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