Wheat Trucks From India To Pass Through Pakistan For Afghanistan

Islamabad, Feb 15: Pakistan’s Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry announced that Afghan trucks carrying wheat from India through Pakistan will be allowed toll-free passage through the country, Dawn reported on Tuesday. Islamabad has completed all the arrangements to facilitate the supply of wheat by India to Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds, under which 60 trucks would reach Wagah Border (Lahore) from Afghanistan via Torkham and then travel further to Attari (India) and collect the first consignment of wheat from Indian authorities.

This after India entered into an agreement with an Afghanistan-based logistics company that would be liable to send empty trucks via Torkham border (Peshawar) to Wagah (Lahore). At Attari, the India authorities would facilitate the unloading of wheat bags from their trucks and load them onto the Afghan trucks. The Afghan trucks would then return to Wagah border where Pakistan Rangers would carry out a detailed security check and the customs authorities check the commodity. After clearance, the trucks would be dispatched for Afghanistan via Torkham where they would be checked again. The Afghan trucks would start collecting wheat (a total of 50,000 tonnes) from February 22 and the entire process would take about a month to complete.