A spokesman for the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan has said Britain will close a supply base in Pakistan next month. Britain and several other members of the International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, used the base at Karachi airport as a transit point for heavy equipment bound for Afghanistan. Speaking to reporters in the Afghan capital Kabul, Major Gordon Mackenzie said the closure had nothing to do with any security or political concerns in Pakistan. Hardline Islamic parties which oppose the existence of such bases did unexpectedly well in elections in Pakistan earlier this month. (BBC)