THE attack on the convoy of NATO tankers on Tuesday points once again to the threat presented by the US-led war on terror for Pakistan and its citizens. NATO tankers have been targeted consistently by the opponents of this war yet the government has made no attempt to halt this menace of NATO convoys which continuously threaten ordinary Pakistanis as they go across the country to get into Afghanistan. They also add to the destruction of the road network with the loads they carry but even on this count the GoP has failed to get compensation. Even more threatening is the fact that amongst the cargo there is not only highly inflammable fuel but also dangerous weapon systems. The result of all this was most visible on Tuesday because it happened on a large scale and very close to the capital, Islamabad. Which brings up another issue: why has the GoP allowed NATO to have terminals for their dangerous convoys so close to populated and, in this case, sensitive areas. After all, Sangjanin where the terminal is located is only about 50 kms southwest of Islamabad and close also to Rawalpindi and hence GHQ. This reflects a reckless approach to the lives of its citizens by the government. The US has of course called for action against people it refers to, along with Rehman Malik, as the Punjabi Taliban but the fact is that it is the US presence in Pakistan with its covert operatives, and NATO supply convoys that are all posing a direct threat to this country. They provide cause for extremist recruitment and they themselves behave in an imperial way disregarding all laws of the land - often directly killing innocent Pakistanis along the way. The US has also allowed India unfettered access into Afghanistan and through there into Pakistan. The result has been massive Indian weapon and money supplies to all manner of militants in Pakistan. It is time the GoP overcame its fear of the US and took up the India issue with it. However, most important it is time the GoP simply stopped access through Pakistan of NATO supply convoys. NATO had earlier made much of its shifting this function to Central Asia but clearly it has not been too successful on that count. The issue is not simply the money we may be receiving, although on that count also one can be sure NATO is shortchanging us, but the direct threat these convoys pose to Pakistani lives as they pass through the length and breadth of Pakistan. Since 9/11 successive governments of Pakistan have ignored and often directly sacrificed the lives of their citizens simply to further US and NATO interests - drones being one major example. Even the moving of our forces from the eastern front, where India continues to pose a threat, to the Pak-Afghan border was under pressure from the US. It is time this trend was reversed and an immediate step must be an end to access for NATO supplies.