Two days after Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that Indian humanitarian aid of 50,000 metric ton of wheat can be transported to Afghanistan through his country, Islamabad on Wednesday formally conveyed the decision to New Delhi in this regard.
Pakistan also said it has allowed transportation of life-saving medicines from India to Afghanistan via Attari-Wagah border on an "exceptional basis for humanitarian purposes."
The decision came weeks after India urged Pakistan to allow the land route to ferry humanitarian aid. So far, Pakistan allows only Afghanistan to ferry goods to India through road but exports from Indian through land is not permitted.
Meanwhile, India on Wednesday reaffirmed the need for an inclusive negotiated political settlement to the Afghan crisis and said the territory of Afghanistan should not be used to the detriment of any other country.
Making this assertion here, Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla said New Delhi is in touch with all countries concerned over is in touch with all countries concerned on the Afghan issue, noting that it will have to see how best to protect its interests and "make the best" of a difficult situation. He made these observations in a virtual interactive session at the Indian Chamber of Commerce(ICC).
As regards permission to India to ferry aid, "The decision of the government of Pakistan to this effect was formally conveyed to the Charge d' Affaires of India at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement in Islamabad on Wednesday.
The FO said wheat and medicines to Afghanistan would be allowed to enter through “Wagah Border on an exceptional basis for humanitarian purposes”.
Last month, India announced 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat for Afghanistan as humanitarian assistance and requested Pakistan to ship the food grain via the Wagah border.
India has contributed to the humanitarian requirements of the Afghan people. This included providing more than 1 million metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan over the past decade.
Last year too India assisted Afghanistan with 75,000 metric tonnes of wheat, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on the Humanitarian situation in Afghanistan in September.
Imran Khan on Monday announced the decision as soon as modalities are finalized with the Indian side. He said this while approving a humanitarian assistance package for Afghanistan.
He visited the new Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC) in Islamabad and chaired the first apex committee meeting of the cell. The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and National Security Adviser(NSA) Moeed Yousaf.
An official statement after the meeting also said “Pakistan will also facilitate the return of Afghan patients who had gone to India for medical treatment and are stuck there, the Prime Minister announced.”