No conditionality on Afghanistan aid, India tells Pakistan as they finalise modalities
As the Indian government confirmed on Friday that it was working with Pakistan to finalise the modalities for delivering wheat to Afghanistan through the land route, it also reminded Islamabad that humanitarian assistance should not be subject to “conditionalities”.
The two sides are yet to decide how the wheat will be transported as Pakistan is apparently not ready to allow Indian trucks to carry the wheat from Wagah. The official response followed a formal communication by Pakistan earlier in the week that it had approved India’s proposal to deliver 50,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan via the Attari-Wagah border.
Earlier in the day, in a Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral meeting, foreign minister S Jaishankar exhorted his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi respectively, to ensure humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
“In line with our commitment to the well-being of Afghan people, we have offered supply of 50,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan to address the drought situation. RIC countries need to work together to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches the Afghan people without hindrance and without politicisation,’’ said Jaishankar, while calling for an inclusive and representative government in Afghanistan.
The foreign ministry said later it was examining Islamabad’s response to India’s proposal. “India has always stood by the people of Afghanistan, be it humanitarian assistance or developmental support. We are examining the response to our proposal to deliver humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. We are also working out the modalities with the Pakistan side. We believe humanitarian assistance should not be subject to conditionalities,’’ said spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
by Sachin Parashar in Times of India, Nov 27, 2021
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/no-conditionality-on-afghanistan-aid-india-tells-pakistan-as-they-finalise-modalities/articleshowprint/87940149.cms
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