The first trucks supplying NATO troops in Afghanistan have crossed the border from Pakistan after Islamabad ended a seven-month blockade.
Pakistan closed overland routes for NATO convoys into its war-torn neighbor after a botched US air raid in November killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at a border post, plunging ties between the war on Islam allies to a new low.
Three trucks loaded with mineral water were cleared to enter Afghanistan from the Chaman border post in Pakistan's remote province of Baluchistan on Thursday.
Following a bitter seven-month standoff, Islamabad agreed to reopen the routes on Tuesday after Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, apologized for the air strike deaths.
The majority of trucks for the NATO convoys have spent the past seven months standing idle in the port of Karachi.
Puppet officials there said it was likely to be several days before they set off as measures to protect the containers from attack by Taliban Mujahideen were still being worked out.
The Mujahideen have vowed to attack NATO invaders' supply trucks, and haulage associations have voiced fears for the safety of their drivers.
The blockade had forced the United States and its allies to rely on longer, more expensive northern routes through Central Asia, Russia and the Caucasus, costing the US military about $ 100 million a month, according to the Pentagon.
As part of the deal to open the routes, which followed months of negotiations, Washington will release about $ 1.1bn to the greedy Pakistani military from a US "coalition support fund" designed to reimburse Pakistan for the cost of counter-Islam operations.
Islamabad had steadfastly insisted on an apology for the November attack, but Washington had previously only expressed regret.
Source: Agencies
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