Islamabad authorities said on Saturday they were closing one of NATO’s key supply routes to Afghanistan after the alliance’s airstrike in Pakistan, which killed 25 people, Pakistani TV channels said.
According to media, the authorities have closed the so-called northern supply route through the Khyber Pass and Torham border post. This route is considered the most convenient out of two NATO’s Pakistani routes to Afghanistan.
Local media earlier said, quoting the Pakistani army sources as saying, that several NATO helicopters violated the airspace of Pakistan from the territory of Afghanistan on Friday and attacked a check post in Mohmand tribal area in northwest Pakistan. At least 25 soldiers were reported killed, while 14 people were injured.
A representative of the local authorities told journalists that 40 tankers and trucks have already returned from the check post.
This is not the first time NATO helicopters attack Pakistani soldiers. On September 30, 2010, NATO helicopters attacked a Pakistani border post in Orkazai province killing two people, while four people were injured.
Currently over 70 percent of all NATO’s supplies are shipped to the NATO troops in Afghanistan through Pakistan.
