Whatever the case may be, the official statement coming from Islamabad announced reopening of supply routes, and claimed that United States had apologized for killing 24 troops in an attack on Salala check-post on November 26, 2011. The decision was taken in the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) which met under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister. It is pertinent to mention here that as such the NATO supplies have not resumed till date, and not even a single consignment has moved toward Afghanistan. However, the Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC), an alliance of religious-political groups, has already chalked out a plan to resist resumption of NATO supplies.
In another development, former US Army Vice Chief of Staff General Jack Keane stressed before Congressional Committee that Washington should take the option of Pakistani supply route off the table. He said: “We could actually take the issue off the table in my judgment in terms of our relationship with Pakistan on this issue because we do have alternatives. And most dramatically, our force size is coming down rather significantly, and therefore there's less requirement."
Michael O'Hanlon, Director of Research, Senior Fellow and Chair at Brookings Institute's Foreign Policy Programme, said: "I'm not saying cut off all aid to the state in Pakistan. I think we should certainly continue to fund civil society in Pakistan in an alternative to the military and ISI-dominated foreign and national security policy they pursue…”
There is no doubt that US and allies have already withdrawn bulk of their forces last year after the humiliating defeat at the hands of Mujahideen of Afghanistan and Pakistan. US Army General Jack Keane has rightly highlighted that US’ forces size is coming down rather significantly, and therefore there's less requirement of NATO supplies through Pakistan, but the western conspiracy to arm civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan is a matter of concern.
Pakistan must investigate the matter of missing containers as well as those piled up near Pakistani ports. The law-enforcement agencies must take action against the illegal automatic weapons in Pakistan as well as lethal equipment distributed by US and India among civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan on the pretext of NATO supplies. Unless we are control NATO-sponsored weaponization of major cities in Pakistan and Afghanistan, peace would not be ale to be restored in cities like Karachi, Gilgit and Quetta.