Muted response in Pak to opening of Nato supply lines

Within hours of a much awaited American apology on the attack on the Salala border post, the Pakistani government said it would reopen the Nato supply route, thereby bringing an end to an eight-month stand-off between the two countries. Imtiaz Ahmad reports.

Within hours of a much awaited American apology on the attack on the Salala border post, the Pakistani government said it would reopen the Nato supply route, thereby bringing an end to an eight-month stand-off between the two countries.

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The announcement was met with a muted response by various quarters. The Difa-e-Pakistan Council, the umbrella body of religious and militant organisations in the country, threatened a country wide protest on Friday. But there was no reiteration of an earlier call to attack Nato containers.

"Possibly this was because the military was behind the decision," commented Talat Masood, a defence analyst.

On Tuesday, information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said, "High-level officials of the US government had stated that they will not apologise, yet they went against their stated position and apologised. We should at least appreciate that."

It has also emerged that secretary of state Hillary Clinton had discussed with her Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar the "language" of her apology statement while she was working on it during the last few weeks.