Islamabad: Pakistan has allowed nuclear rival India to deliver tons of wheat to Afghans struggling through intensifying food shortages, two foreign ministry officials said Monday.
Under a deal with New Delhi, dozens of trucks from Afghanistan will be allowed to collect wheat from India by way of Pakistan’s Wagha border near the city of Lahore, beginning Feb. 21.
The trucks filled with wheat will then head back to Afghanistan’s Jalalabad city via Pakistan’s Torkham border the next day, the officials said.
They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the record. The arrangement comes more than three months after India announced it would deliver 50,000 metric tons of wheat and life-saving medicines to Afghanistan.
Pakistan said at the time it would allow the Indian aid to pass through its territory en route to Afghanistan, but New Delhi could not finalize modalities until last week, said the officials.
