Pakistan says it will consider reopening key NATO supply routes to neighboring Afghanistan, provided NATO is willing to pay.

Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said that Islamabad has not yet decided whether to allow NATO to resume overland shipments of non-lethal supplies to Afghanistan. But he told reporters in Sukkur that if the routes are reopened, “it will not be free.”

The minister said a high volume of heavy traffic has damaged the country's road infrastructure over the last 10 years. He said any money raised through tolls or tariffs on NATO shipments would go to road infrastructure.

Pakistan blocked the Khyber and Chaman routes following last month's NATO raid on Pakistani border posts that killed 24 soldiers.

Last week, the U.S. military issued a report on the incident that blamed inadequate coordination by both Pakistani and U.S.-led forces.

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((SOUNDBITES:

1. (Urdu) PAKISTAN'S DEFENSE MINISTER, AHMED MUKHTAR, SAYING:

“No, so far the issue is at a standstill. If supplies are resumed, it will not be free.''

2. (Urdu) PAKISTAN'S DEFENSE MINISTER, AHMED MUKHTAR, SAYING:

“We have to spend a lot of money on our roads, because the roads keep getting damaged by the 3,000 containers that pass over them every day. And they pass by without paying. We will charge them for this so that we can repair the roads and repair them well.''