NATO urges Pakistan to keep Afghan supply lines open despite Mehsud's killing

Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has reportedly urged Pakistan to keep its supply lines open to forces in Afghanistan despite outcry over the recent killing of Tehreek-e-Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud by a US drone strike last week.

Rasmussen hoped that the Pakistani authorities will maintain open supply routes and transit routes because it is in the country's own interest to contribute positively to stability and security in the region.

According to the Express Tribune, Pakistan is the main route to supply US troops in Afghanistan with food, drinking water and fuel and any closure to services would be a serious disruption as US and other Western forces prepare to withdraw most of their troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year.

Rasmussen did not comment on the drone strike killing Mehsud but apparently supported US actions, and said that terrorism constitutes a threat to the whole region.

Even as Pakistan is angered with Mehsud's killing which is seen as a major disruption to the peace talk process with Taliban, the US Secretary of State John Kerry has defended its actions, while maintaining that it was still sensitive to Pakistan's concerns, the report added.