Pak considering humanitarian wheat transportation extension to Afghanistan

Pakistan on Friday said it is considering a request by India to extend the deadline for the transportation of remaining 15,000 metric tonnes of wheat as humanitarian assistance to war-torn Afghanistan.

The first consignment of humanitarian aid of 2,500 tonnes of wheat from India reached Afghanistan's Jalalabad through Pakistan on February 26. The second convoy carrying 2,000 MTs of wheat left Attari in Amritsar on March 3 for Jalalabad, Afghanistan. India sent the third consignment of 2,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan in 40 trucks via the Attari-Wagah border on March 8.

India in June sent a fresh shipment of 3,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan via the Pakistani land route.

We have on numerous occasions extended the timeline, and I'm sure in order to enable this to be completed, this is being considered, Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said at his weekly media briefing here.

Responding to a question on observer-level participation by Pakistan in the closing ceremony of the SCO-RATS (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure) exercise in India, Ahmed said the Indian participation was also at the same level in Pakistan, so that's how our participation was expected to be.

India is hosting the SCO-RATS drills at Manesar in Haryana in October. India is chairing the SCO RATS this year. Pakistan is participating as an observer for the meeting at the closing ceremony.