Pakistan permitted 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and medicines to be transported from India to Afghanistan as a “goodwill and remarkable humanitarian gesture.”
Wheat and life-saving medicines were allowed to be transported from India over the Wagah Border.
The Foreign Office said, “As a goodwill gesture towards the brotherly Afghan people, the government of Pakistan has decided to allow the transportation of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and life-saving medicines from India to Afghanistan via the Wagah Border on an exceptional basis for humanitarian purposes.”
PM Imran Khan approves humanitarian assistance
The Prime Minister’s office stated that Prime Minister Imran Khan authorized a humanitarian aid package for Afghanistan at the first apex committee meeting of the newly formed Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC) two days ago.
The meeting was attended by:
- Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
- Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin.
- Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
- National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf.
- Senior civil and military officers.
The Prime Minister’s office stated in a statement, “PM Imran Khan ordered the urgent dispatch of in-kind humanitarian assistance worth Rs5 billion, comprising food items […], emergency medical supplies, winter shelters, and other supplies.”
The premier advised the relevant ministries to make every effort to help Afghans as much as possible, and he authorized tariff and sales tax reductions on significant Afghan exports to Pakistan in principle.
According to the announcement, Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed that free COVID-19 vaccinations be provided to Afghans crossing land borders.
The decision to facilitate the shipping of 50,000 megatons of wheat via Pakistan under India’s humanitarian assistance, as soon as the two nations finalise the details, was made during the meeting.
The prime minister stated that he would make it easier for Afghans who had traveled to India for medical treatment to return home.
