https://arab.news/2fa48
- Islamabad allowed Afghan trucks to collect relief items from its border with India in November
- Time period granted for the transportation of this humanitarian assistance expired on March 21
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday granted extension to India for the transportation of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and life-saving medicines as humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, the Pakistani foreign office said, amid heightened Islamabad-Kabul border tensions.
The Pakistani government approved the transportation of wheat and life-saving medicines through the Wagah border crossing in November 2021. The time period granted for the transportation of this humanitarian assistance expired on March 21.
New Delhi recently requested for an extension in time period to complete the transportation process, according to the Pakistani foreign office.
"As a manifestation of our sincere efforts towards addressing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, it has been decided to grant two months’ extension to facilitate completion of the transportation," the foreign office said in a statement.
"All the modalities shall remain the same as earlier communicated to the Indian side."
The Indian high commission Islamabad has been informed of the decision.
The development comes amid rising border tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.
Pakistan on Sunday urged Afghanistan to step up security and prevent cross-border attacks, days after the killing of seven Pakistani soldiers in the country's northwest.
A day earlier, Afghan authorities issued a warning to Islamabad over alleged airstrikes by the Pakistani military on Afghan territory.
The tensions escalated after Saturday’s airstrikes, which according to local residents and media reports killed at least 45 people in the Afghan provinces of Khost and Kunar, close to the Pakistani border.
Experts have warned that border tensions are a threat to Afghanistan-Pakistan relations and a test to the Taliban administration.
The incursions could increase mutual mistrust between the two neighbors, according to political analyst Faiz Zaland from Kabul University.