India and Pakistan have in the end arrived at an settlement to move 50,000 MT of Indian wheat to Afghanistan via the land direction that passes via the Attari-Wagah border, ToI has learnt. The giant workout concerning heaps of vehicles is anticipated to roll out early February.
India and Pakistan have been engaged in finalising the modalities for transporting wheat to drought-afflicted Afghanistan for nearly 2 months. The authorities is learnt to have conveyed to Pakistan that it will likely be geared up to despatch the primary consignment with the aid of using the second one week of subsequent month.
India currently despatched its 1/3 batch of help to Kabul, in most cases life-saving medicines, with the aid of using air. Its provide of turning in wheat to Afghanistan via the border with Pakistan though, in spite of unceasing hostility in ties with Islamabad, continues to be the maximum big initiative in its outreach to the Taliban who back in August remaining yr to take manage of the strategically essential united states.
Pakistan has rarely, if ever, allowed transit centers for Indian resource to Afghanistan withinside the beyond numerous a long time and in 2002 had rejected the equal thought with the aid of using India whilst Afghanistan became confronted with a comparable humanitarian crisis.
The Taliban have now no longer simply welcomed India’s thought to deliver wheat to Afghanistan thru Pakistan at this “vital time” however had additionally sought an early approval from Pakistan PM Imran Khan. ToI had first suggested on October 19 that India had contacted Pakistan for transporting 50,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan.
As in line with the knowledge the two facets have reached, Afghan vehicles running below UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) will ferry Indian wheat from the India-Pakisan border to Afghanistan thru Pakistan’s Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan. Pakistan had introduced in advance this week that it had positioned all preparations in location and became watching for very last affirmation from India for the despatch of the primary consignment.
Official reassets denied that there have been any put off with the aid of using India even as recalling that Pakistan had taken nicely over a month to approve the Indian authorities‘s thought remaining yr. India continues to be operating to remedy logistical problems concerned in transporting 50,000 MT of wheat to the border. The workout has been similarly complex with the aid of using the imminent elections in Punjab.
India additionally desired UN to oversee distribution of wheat and different resource to Afghanistan. The safety convention on Afghanistan hosted with the aid of using NSA Ajit Doval in November had known as for humanitarian help to be furnished in an unimpeded, direct and confident way to Afghanistan and additionally that the help became dispensed in the united states in a non-discriminatory way throughout all sections of the Afghan society.