Pakistan exposed again as it blocks wheat to Afghanisthan

India is keen to send medicines to the country that has faced decades of conflict.
Pakistan exposed again as it blocks wheat to Afghanisthan

NEW DELHI: After isolating Pakistan in various global forums, India is now trying to expose its hostile neighbour further. As Pakistan continues to drag its feet on granting overland transit to the 1.7 lakh tonnes of wheat that India wants to send to Afghanistan facing food shortage, India has moved the World Trade Organization (WTO) about the blockade.

Apart from food supplies, considered humanitarian aid under international norms, India is keen to send medicines to the country that has faced decades of conflict. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials, however, admitted to The Sunday Standard: “Status quo prevails. A country cannot be compelled to transit a consignment.”

Kabul and New Delhi have been exploring alternate route via Iran, “but things are stuck owing to the custom duty in the country,” officials said. India is hoping that Chabahar port, on its completion, will help India and Afghanistan to bypass Pakistan. The two countries had reached an agreement for establishment of an air corridor, to transport Afghan goods to Indian markets.

The result of Pakistan’s unyielding attitude has been that war-ravaged Afghanistan is staring at a food crisis. Malnutrition has reached dangerously high levels, with the UNICEF estimating more than 50 per cent of children suffering from long-term or acute malnutrition.   Nearly one-third of Afghanistan’s people are food-insecure.

Frustrated at Pakistan’s attitude, President Ashraf Ghani had threatened to stop giving access to Pakistan’s shipments to the Central Asia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to supply 1.7 lakh tonnes of wheat to Kabul during his visit to the country in December 2015. Since then the Nawaz Sharif Government has refused Indian consignment to ply via its territory, which, Indian government officials indicate, flies in the face of WTO norms. Islamabad has been wary of the good relations between New Delhi and Kabul, and feels its sphere of influence in the country shrinking.

India and Afghanistan had discussed the issue with the US during trilateral talks in September, but no headway has been made. The Pakistan media has cited the resistance from its flour millers, who supply flour to Afghanistan. The Afghan government has been complaining about the high prices and low quality of the wheat supplied by Pakistan.

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