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NATO: Pakistan attacks will not affect supplies

BRUSSELS, Belgium — NATO operations in Afghanistan will not be affected by escalating attacks on the alliance’s supply lines through Pakistan, Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Tuesday.

The militants “should not be under any illusion that they can disrupt the lines of communication, since we have alternatives,” de Hoop Scheffer said.

In one of their most brazen attacks, pro-Taliban fighters on Sunday torched about 170 trucks and trailers carrying supplies and equipment to the allied force in Afghanistan. The attack occurred in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, near the border with Afghanistan. The destroyed vehicles included about 70 Humvees.

Some 80 to 90 percent of the supplies for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan pass through Pakistan’s main port of Karachi and are trucked to Afghanistan.

Analysts say the tactics used in the latest attacks differ significantly from those used in previous ambushes of NATO supply convoys. In the past, attacks have mostly occurred in the Khyber Pass area, and militants have focused on pilfering supplies to sell on local markets.

In the Peshawar attack, however, the attackers appeared intent on destroying the entire convoy.

In recent months, NATO has tried to develop other supply routes into Afghanistan. One of the possibilities is a northern overland route that would carry supplies by rail through Russia and the Central Asian nations to northern Afghanistan. Although Moscow has given its consent, NATO is still negotiating with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

“It is sad of course to see attacks on convoys, but let me assure you there will be not the slightest disruption for the ISAF forces in Afghanistan,” de Hoop Scheffer said.