Pakistani Minister Urges Reopening Border to NATO

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's defense minister says the country should reopen its Afghan border crossings to NATO troop supplies after negotiating a better deal with the coalition.

Pakistan closed the crossings over two months ago in response to American airstrikes that accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said on Tuesday that the government should negotiate new "terms and conditions" with NATO and then reopen the border.

He did not provide details. But other Pakistani officials have said the government should levy additional fees on NATO for using the route through the country.About 30 percent of non-lethal supplies for U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan traveled through Pakistan before the border closed.

Pakistan's army last month formally rejected a U.S. claim that American airstrikes that killed the Pakistani troops were justified as self-defense because they believed they were being attacked by Taliban fighters..

In a detailed report, the army said that Pakistani troops did not trigger the Nov. 26 incident at two posts along the Afghan border by firing at American and Afghan forces, as the U.S. has alleged. Pakistan's army said its troops shot at suspected militants who were nowhere near coalition troops.

"Trying to affix partial responsibility of the incident on Pakistan is, therefore, unjustified and unacceptable," said the report, which was issued in response to the U.S. investigation that concluded at the end of December.