Taliban warns Pakistan against aiding U.S.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan -- The Taliban threatened Sunday to attack Pakistani lawmakers and their families if they support allowing NATO to resume shipping supplies through the country to troops in Afghanistan.

Pakistan closed its Afghan border crossings to NATO in November in retaliation for American airstrikes that accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The Pakistan parliament is scheduled to begin debate Monday on a revised relationship with the United States that could lead to the border being reopened.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan accused Pakistani officials of acting like slaves for the United States and said allowing NATO supplies to resume would be "shameful and unacceptable."

"These parliamentarians must know that, in such case, none of them will be safe in their homes," Ahsan said. "We will start attacking all the parliamentarians and their families." He also said militants would "publicly slaughter" drivers ferrying NATO supplies.

The United States is eager to get the supplies moving again because it has had to spend much more money shipping goods by an alternative route through Central Asia. The supply line will also be key to trucking out equipment for the U.S. withdrawal of most of its combat forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Pakistan would also benefit from patching up relations because it needs U.S. assistance to help keep its struggling economy afloat. The United States has given Pakistan billions in aid since 2001 to enlist its support in fighting Islamist militants, but the relationship has been plagued by mistrust.

A Pakistani parliamentary commission tasked with proposing new guidelines for the U.S. relationship demanded last week an end to American drone attacks and an apology for the airstrikes that killed Pakistani troops. The commission also recommended that the Pakistani government charge NATO more for shipments through the country if it allows them to resume.