prevent this from ever happening again." US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta said in a separate statement that the US "remains committed to improving our partnership with Pakistan and to working closely together as our two nations confront common security challenges in the region", US General John R. Allen said in a statement that the agreement is "a demonstration of Pakistan's desire to help secure a brighter future for both Afghanistan and the region at large." and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed the announcement to reopen the supply lines, stating saying it highlighted the important role Pakistan has in supporting a stable future for Afghanistan. Pakistani reactions to the US apology were different. "We appreciate Secretary Clinton's statement, and hope that bilateral ties can move to a better place from here. I am confident that both countries can agree on many critical issues, especially on bringing peace to the region," Pakistan's ambassador to the US Sherry Rehman said in a statement. In general the decision to reopen the supply routes was met in Pakistan with a general sense of befuddlement and muted criticism that the Pakistani government had given up a much-trumpeted increase in transit fees for NATO trucks. Opposition politicians criticised the move and demanded more of an explanation from the Pakistani government and military. "Now government should let the people know about the terms and conditions for reopening the NATO supply lines. What were the demands?" said former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Enver Baig, an opposition politician belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz complained about Americans: "They did not apologize. They said 'sorry.'" Some Pakistani vowed civil disobedience to stop the convoys. "The decision to reopen NATO supplies is a big crime against the country, and we will not sit silently over this," retired Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul, a leader of the Defense Council of Pakistan (a coalition of Islamic parties that includes pro-Taliban clerics and other foes of the NATO routes) and a former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, told the Pakistani cable channel Express News. "We will come to roads and streets and protest against the decision and will also try to stop the supplies." Pakistani Taliban announced that they will attack any NATO supply trucks travelling along the routes. Transporters who resume supplies will be "considered a friend of the U.S." and will face the consequences, a spokesman for the militant group