Fuel tankers, which were used to carry fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan, are parked at a compound in Karachi

REUTERS

The United States and Pakistan are expected to agree soon on the reopening of land routes crucial to supplying NATO troops in Afghanistan, a Pakistani official said on Monday, a move that could ease a seven-month crisis in the two countries' ties.

A senior Pakistani security official told Reuters that a deal was expected to be announced soon.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides left Islamabad on Monday after talks with Pakistani officials, the U.S. State Department said.

Senior Pakistani government and defence officials are expected to meet in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss the talks.

U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has been seeking a new arrangement to reopen the supply routes since November, when Islamabad shut them after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed by U.S. aircraft along the Afghan border.

Pakistan has demanded that the United States apologize for the air attack, which NATO described as an unfortunate accident but which enraged Pakistanis.