NATO supply blockade hurting Pakistani military

The ongoing blockade of the NATO supply lines in Pakistan is against Pakistani military's interest, a media report said Wednesday.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a political party led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, had blocked the supply route of the NATO forces in the country's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since Nov 23 to protest US drone strikes in the country.

The leading Pakistani daily, Dawn, quoting experts, said the campaign against NATO was harming the interest of military.

"The National Logistics Cell, a military outfit, has a major stake (business) in NATO supply operations and the same has experienced a hit because of the shipments' suspension," the report quoted Brig. (retd.) Mohammad Saad, a former military attache at the Pakistan embassy in Kabul, as saying.

The friendly working relationship with NATO member countries is vital for the Pakistani military, according to experts.

Defence analyst Hassan Askari Rizvi said Pakistan could not entirely depend on China for meeting its military hardware requirements and therefore, its relations with the US and the European countries were essential.

"China can supply light weapons, whereas our military depends on the US and Europeans for heavy weaponry," he said.

"Their relationship is vital to Pakistan military."

The experts also said the blocked NATO supplies were negatively impacting the political transition in Afghanistan.