Pentagon officials hope that the Pakistan government will reopen the ground supply lines into Afghanistan "in the very near future," George Little, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for public affairs, said on Tuesday.
Addressing a news conference, Little said a U.S. team had been in discussions with Pakistani officials since the government closed the border crossings in November 2011. "We are hopeful that in the very near future they will be reopened," he said. "They are important supply routes for us."
Pakistan closed the routes, known as ground lines of communication, after a November 26 incident in which American troops came under fire from Pakistan. U.S. forces returned fire and killed 26 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan responded by closing the main overland supply routes for U.S. and NATO forces into Afghanistan.
U.S. logistics specialists quickly shifted to other means to supply the forces, but the routes through Pakistan are considered the most direct and cost-effective.
Other aspects of the U.S.-Pakistan relations were not affected. "We continue to work closely with the Pakistanis to renew our relationship that gets over some of the obstacles that we faced in the past," Little said.
The United States and Pakistan share common threats, concerns and interests, according to him. "The same terrorists that come after us go after Pakistanis and have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Pakistanis," he added.
Little and Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby also discussed counter-terrorism in Yemen. Kirby said although U.S. service members conduct operations with the Yemenis to get after terrorist targets, "a large part of our effort is to help them build the capacity to do it themselves."
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.