Border closure halts return of Canadian military gear

By Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia News November 30, 2011 6:11 PM

OTTAWA — Hundreds of sea containers stuffed with military gear that were supposed to be returning to Canada are instead languishing at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan because of Pakistan's decision to close its border to NATO, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

Lt.-Cmdr. John Nethercott said the border closure isn't expected to affect the military's imminent withdrawal from Kandahar, though he acknowledged there could be complications if Pakistan doesn't reopen its borders soon.

"We're assessing the situation," he said. "At this point, there's no impact on our withdrawal of personnel and no immediate impact on our efforts to repatriate equipment back to Canada by land and sea."

About 1,200 troops are in Kandahar packing up for the imminent end of Canada's military presence after six years in the southern Afghan province. They have until the end of the year to wrap up their work.

High-priority and sensitive equipment is being shipped out by air, while the rest was to be sent by convoy across the Afghan-Pakistan border and down the 1,600-kilometre route to the Indian Ocean for transport by sea.

Nethercott said there are containers already gathered at a port in Pakistan, where they were waiting to be loaded onto a ship once the remainder arrived.

The containers being held in transit in Afghanistan are not at the Kandahar Airfield, he added, though he would not say where they are. It's likely they are close to the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Pakistan's border closure has delayed their departure from Afghanistan, though Nethercott downplayed the impact on the Canadian military's withdrawal from Kandahar.

"The repatriation of all the Canadian Forces equipment from Afghanistan to Canada continues to go very well," he said. "We're nearing completion, and for all intents and purposes it's on track."

Pakistan closed the border over the weekend after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in NATO airstrikes. It was the latest in a string of events that have strained relations between Pakistan and NATO countries, particularly the U.S.

The country is a key transit point for the convoys that sustain NATO's mission in Afghanistan, and there are widespread concerns the border closure could negatively affect the mission.

lberthiaume@postmedia.com

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