From Feb 22, Delhi to send wheat to Kabul overland through Pak in Afghan trucks, says Pak miner

India will start sending wheat to Afghanan overland through Pakan from February 22 in Afghan trucks that will pick up the consignments at Atari, Pakan’s Information and Broadcasting Miner Fawad Chaudhary said.
With this, India and Pakan appear to have resolved a key difference that was holding up Delhi’s commitment to sending 50,000 tons of wheat as humanitarian assance to Afghanan.
Pakan’s Cabinet had given its approval for India to send the consignment overland through its territory to Afghanan last November, after India made a proposal in October. But the transportation itself became a sticking point.
Sources here said Islamabad wanted the wheat to be transported in Pakani trucks provided the National Logics Cell, a trucking operation affiliated to Pakan Army. New Delhi wanted to send it in Indian trucks.

Using Afghan trucks was a compromise solution.
The resolution came soon after a pact between New Delhi and the World Food Programme (WFP) signed over the weekend to supply foodgrain to Afghanan as a humanitarian gesture. The pact with WFP was signed on Saturday — between the Indian embassy in Italy and WFP officials in Rome.
The consignments are to be sent in Afghan trucks that will pick up the wheat from Atari and take it through Pakan’s Torkham border to Jalalabad in Afghanan.

Sources in New Delhi said the consignment would be sent after Punjab Assembly polls on February 20.
The first proposal from India to Pakan was sent in early October, and it has taken more than four months of negotiations to get the proposal implemented.
Chaudhary said Pakan welcomes India’s gesture of sending wheat to Afghanan, where a shortage of money and food has created a humanitarian crisis.
In response to pleas humanitarian agencies for a waiver of sanctions, a UN resolution in December carved out exemptions, but very little aid has reached the country due to fears of misappropriation the Taliban. “We want all countries to help Afghanan. We welcome the Indian gesture of sending this humanitarian assance,” Chaudhary said.
He said trucks from Afghanan would travel through Pakan to Atari, where the wheat would be unloaded from Indian trucks and loaded into Afghan vehicles. These trucks would then cross back into Pakani territory. After security checks at Wagah, they would be allowed to proceed towards the Torkham crossing.

“It’s a security issue as well, because Indian truck drivers don’t speak Pashto,” said Chaudhary.
He said Pakan had also wanted certification from Indian authorities that the consignment of wheat was free of disease, which has now been provided. He said a related concern was that the consignments should be transported in fully sealed trucks so that there was no danger of grain spilling out en route.
India, which has said it wants to help the Afghan people, has sent 5 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kabul, and more than 6 tons of life-saving drugs in at least four batches through WHO.
(With ENS, New Delhi)