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After long closure, NATO supplies enter Afghanistan from Pakistan


    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A pair of trucks carrying NATO supplies crossed into Afghanistan on Thursday, Pakistani customs officials said, the first time in over seven months that Pakistan has permitted Western nations to use its roads to supply troops in Afghanistan.

    Customs officials said the container trucks had passed through the Chaman border crossing into southern Afghanistan, a milestone following a deal this week with the United States ending the impasse triggered by the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers by U.S. aircraft last November.

    "We received orders yesterday to allow NATO supply trucks through, but security officials hadn't received their instructions," said Imran Raza, a customs official. "They received their orders today, and now two trucks have crossed the border into Afghanistan."

    (Reporting Saeed Achakzai in CHAMAN, Pakistan; writing by Missy Ryan)