NATO trucks begin crossing Afghan-Pakistan border

The NATO first trucks in more than seven months are entering Afghanistan from Pakistan after Pakistan’s closure of NATO supply routes officially ended.

Vehicles carrying supplies crossed the border on Thursday, The Associated Press reported, after the two countries struck a deal on Tuesday to reopen the crossing.

The agreement to open up the supply lines was a step forward for the troubled U.S.-Pakistan relations, though many issues still remain.

Islamabad agreed to reopen the supply lines after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apologized for NATO troops killing 24 soldiers on the Afghan-Pakistan border in November.

NATO was using alternate supply lines in and out of Afghanistan, but it came at an added cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. The supply lines are going to be important as U.S. troops draw down over the next two years.

Tension between the United States and Pakistan remains despite the agreement reached this week. Both sides accuse the other of not doing enough to control militants along the border, and Pakistan still objects to drone strikes the United States carries out to target terrorists in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

There’s also still lingering anger and mistrust over last year’s Osama bin Laden raid, with Pakistan upset that the U.S. violated its sovereignty and U.S. officials openly accusing Islamabad of knowing where bin Laden was hiding.

The AP reported that the first truck passed through the Chaman border crossing Thursday. In Karachi, 2,500 containers and vehicles were being held at the facility since the closure, according to the news organization.

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