Nato's problems in getting supplies to its forces in Afghanistan show no sign of abating. Routes from Pakistan have not operated properly since a US airstrike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last year, while trucks - like those above delivering fuel within Afghanistan for coalition forces - are being attacked by the Taliban.

Although an agreement between the US and Pakistan was reached this month to allow Nato trucks to travel overland from the Pakistani towns of Chaman and Torkham to Afghanistan, a combination of bureaucracy and security concerns have prevented all but a handful from making the journey.

The delay in reopening the overland routes is difficult for truck drivers waiting in Karachi, who face a dilemma. On the one hand they have gone months with no wage, but on the other they face the dangers of Taliban attacks in Pakistan and in Afghanistan once the routes fully reopen.

The situation is equally frustrating for drivers in Torkham, a town in northern Pakistan which straddles the Afghan border. The long delays in reopening Nato supply lines have left the town's bustling streets even more busy and jammed than usual.

Torkham is important not only for Nato as an overland route. Some locals earn a living ferrying smuggled goods, including cigarettes, car spare parts and food items - mostly from Afghanistan to the Pakistani side of the border.

The border delays have meant the Salang Highway - which connects Kabul with northern Afghanistan and on to Central Asia - remains vital to delivering Nato supplies, mostly from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

But drivers along the road complain its surface is pot-holed and dangerous, resulting in vehicles being frequently damaged. Accidents and break-downs add to traffic jams on the route, which in winter is hit by massive snowfall and avalanches, causing casualties every year.

The road was built 48 years ago by Soviet engineers as the Red Army crossed the Salang Pass to reach Kabul. It became crucial for international forces this year after Pakistan shut border crossings into Afghanistan. Nato forces in Afghanistan have relied on supplies via Central Asia for seven months.

Like his stranded counterparts in Pakistan, this driver does not have an easy life - although at least he gets to drive his vehicle. But he says heavy traffic and the poor state of the roads have doubled travelling times between Kabul and the northern town of Mazar-e Sharif. The journey can now take up to 14 hours.

The Salang tunnel in the Hindu Bush - at almost 4,000m (13,123ft) above sea level - may have cut travel by more than 100km (62 miles). But the poor road surface, a lack of lighting and damaged ventilators mean the 2.7km journey through the mountain rock is still fraught with hazards.

Damaged during decades of civil war, the Salang Highway was blown up in 1988 by Northern Alliance fighters to stop the Taliban pursuing them. It was then rebuilt with money from the World Bank after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.