Senior Pakistani Officials Reportedly To Meet On Afghan Supply Routes

Pakistani Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani (left) and ISAF commander U.S. General John Allen

Media reports say senior Pakistani government and defense officials are due to meet on July 3 to discuss the reopening of land routes crucial to supplying NATO troops in Afghanistan.

The routes have been closed since November 2011, when a NATO air strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The U.S. State Department has said that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the routes with new Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf when she called him over the weekend.

On July 2, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides headed back to Washington following talks with Pakistani officials.

Pakistani media also reported that General John Allen, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, visited Islamabad on Jul 2 for the second time in less than a week, but U.S. and Pakistani officials could not immediately confirm this.

Based on reporting by Reuters and Dawn.com