Working on modalities with Pakistan to send humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, MEA says

Pakistan Wednesday said it has formally informed India about its decision to allow transportation of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and life-saving drugs to Afghanistan through its territory.

File photo of MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi during a press conference| ANI

New Delhi: India said it is working on the modalities to send humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan through Pakistan, days after Islamabad agreed to allow the transit facility for the aid by New Delhi to people of Afghanistan.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India is examining the response of the Pakistani government and is also working on the modalities with it.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday said his government would allow the transit of 50,000 tonnes of wheat from India to Afghanistan.

“We received a response from the government of Pakistan to our proposal made on October 7 for providing humanitarian assistance of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to the people of Afghanistan. This also has life-saving medicines that we wanted to send,” he said.

Bagchi said India has always stood by the people of Afghanistan, be it humanitarian support or development assistance.

“This was about humanitarian access into Afghanistan on the delivery of the 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and life-saving medicines we are supplying to the people of Afghanistan,” he said.

“We are examining the response of the government of Pakistan, we are also working on the modalities with the Pakistan side. We believe that humanitarian assistance should not be subject to conditionalities,” he said.

Pakistan on Wednesday said it has formally informed India about its decision to allow the transportation of an Indian humanitarian shipment of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and life-saving drugs to Afghanistan through its territory.

Prime Minister Khan announced on Monday that his government will allow India to send humanitarian shipment of wheat to Afghanistan through its territory after the finalisation of the transit modalities.

“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 Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) said on Wednesday.