Pakistan, India nearing deal on Afghan wheat transit

New Delhi has provided the list of Afghan contractors and truck drivers to Islamabad who would transport Indian wheat to Afghanistan via Pakistan, as the two sides inch closer to finalise the agreement.

Diplomatic sources confirmed to The Express Tribune that both sides in principle agreed to the modalities and the wheat shipment would begin once Pakistan approves the list of Afghan contractors and drivers. India in October had announced 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat for Afghanistan as humanitarian assistance and requested Pakistan to open its border for transporting the food grains. Pakistan, which otherwise does not allow two[1]way trade between India and Afghanistan, decided to create an exception by allowing the Indian wheat to pass through its land route.

Pakistan said the decision of allowing India to transport wheat was taken keeping in view the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and must not serve as a precedent for future transhipment.
The two sides initially struggled to agree on modalities as Pakistan initially suggested for the transportation of wheat under the banner of the United Nations. But New Delhi made a counter proposal, suggesting the wheat be carried either by Afghan or Indian trucks.

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Following Islamabad’s nod to New Delhi’s proposal, the latter has now handed a list of Afghan contractors and drivers. Sources said Pakistani authorities are in process of vetting the list. The shipment would be set in motion as soon as Pakistan approves the list provided by India. The two nuclear-armed neigh[1]bours have agreed to join hands for the people of Afghanistan despite the otherwise tense relationship between them.

Other than the longstanding Kashmir dispute, Afghanistan has also been a source of friction between Pakistan and India. Both have accused each other of using the Afghan soil to undermine each other’s security and strategic interests. Islamabad has long accused India of funding and backing the terrorist groups targeting Pakistan.

But the two sides reluctantly agreed to work this time as the people of Afghanistan are in desperate need of help as UN figures show nearly 23 million Afghans are facing acute food shortage. As many as 3.2 million children are at risk of malnutrition. The UNDP has warned that 97 per cent of Afghans would slip below the poverty line by June next if urgent steps are not taken to help them.

Pakistan recently hosted an extraordinary meeting of the OIC Foreign Ministers, who agreed to set up a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan. Islamabad separately is also helping Afghans with a donation of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and other necessary goods.