Lahore: At least 26 Afghan trucks arrived at Wagah border Tuesday evening after collecting the first batch of wheat from India to be transported to Afghanistan as part of New Delhi’s humanitarian aid to the trouble-torn country, Pakistani Customs Department officials said.
“Till Tuesday evening, some 26 Afghan trucks have returned to Wagah border after collecting wheat from India at Attari. Hopefully by later this evening the remaining trucks will also cross into Pakistan to be left for Afghanistan,” a customs official told PTI.
Earlier in the day, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla along with Afghan Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay and World Food Programme Country Director Bishaw Parajuli flagged off the first convoy of 50 trucks transporting the consignment through the Attari-Wagah border crossing.
The trucks will leave for Afghanistan under full security cover, the Pakistani official said.
The official further said a next convoy of over 60 Afghan trucks is likely to arrive here to go to India to collect the second consignment of wheat later this week.
The trucks, driven by Afghan drivers, were allowed to enter Pakistani territory at Torkham on Monday. New Delhi has committed 50,000 tonnes of wheat for Afghanistan because of food shortages in the war-torn country. Pakistan had agreed to facilitate both Afghanistan and India through safe and duty-free transportation of the commodity.
The Indian government had agreed with an Afghanistan-based logistics company to send empty trucks via Torkham and Wagah.
The Pakistan authorities had also sought from the Afghan authorities to ensure the installation of tracking devices in all trucks using the Pakistan territory.
Pakistan last year allowed India to send 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan by using its land route after the humanitarian situation worsened in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in mid-August.
As per the bilateral understanding, India should complete the shipment within 30 days of the first consignment sent through the Wagah border.
India has signed an MoU with the World Food Programme (WFP) on the distribution of wheat to Afghanistan. India would hand over the wheat to WFP in Afghanistan that would then distribute it among the people.
Initially, Islamabad wanted the transportation of humanitarian assistance goods to Kabul on Pakistani trucks under the banner of the United Nations.
But India made a counter proposal and wanted the food grain to be shipped to Afghanistan either in Indian or Afghan trucks. The two sides then agreed that wheat would be carried by Afghan trucks and a list of Afghan contractors was shared with Pakistan.
The wheat provided by India is expected to help Afghanistan deal with shortages. According to international aid agencies, about 23 million Afghan are in need of urgent support.
Afghanistan has been under Taliban rule since August 15 last year when the Afghan hardline militant group ousted the elected government of president Ashraf Ghani and forced him to flee the country and take refuge in the UAE.
India has not recognised the new regime in Afghanistan and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul besides insisting that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country.
PTI