The summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO that opened in the American city of Chicago over the weekend is being dominated by the failure so far by Pakistan and the US to reach agreement on supplying troops in Afghanistan. The US has not been able to meet Pakistan’s conditions for reopening troop supply routes through its territory.
The BBC reported that the summit entered the second day yesterday Monday May 21 with focus on troop withdrawals. France insisted that its troops will return home by the end of the year. The Agence France Presse, AFP news agency quoted newly-elected President François Hollande as saying the issue was non-negotiable because it was a question of French sovereignty.
The handover by NATO-led troops to Afghan forces is expected to be completed by 2014, but several other NATO leaders are under domestic political pressure to bring troops home earlier.
Pakistan closed the supply routes last November after U.S. aircraft killed 24 of its soldiers along the border with Afghanistan. The incident caused a rift with the United States that has not yet healed as the White House, gearing up for November elections, has rebuffed Pakistan's demands for an apology.
President Asif Ali Zardari's decision to accept a last-minute invitation to attend the summit in President Barack Obama's hometown was an abrupt reversal after months of diplomatic estrangement, Reuters news agency said. Islamabad had made it clear that Obama's top aides were not welcome in Pakistan.
The Associated Press, AP reported that the summit has been marred by protests with prosecutors on Sunday charging an activist for boasting that he could blow up a downtown Chicago bridge and that he concealed some explosives in a hollowed-out Harry Potter novel. More than 50 leaders are attending the summit, including Heads of State and government from the 28 NATO countries, along with Afghan President, Hamid Karzai.
