Pakistan to allow Indian aid to Afghanistan to pass through

• Pakistan has allowed the decision to allow the 50,000 MT of wheat India has offered to provide Afghanistan as humanitarian assistance to go through Pakistan as soon as modalities are finalised with the Indian side.
• Pakistan has also decided to facilitate “the return of Afghan patients who had gone to India for medical treatment and are stuck there”.

Background:

• Currently, Pakistan only allows Afghanistan to export goods to India but doesn’t allow any other two-way trade through the border crossing.
• Last month, India announced 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat for Afghanistan as humanitarian assistance and requested Pakistan to ship the food grain via the Wagah border.
• There were reports that Pakistan has blocked India's efforts to provide wheat to the Afghan people, amidst the chill in relations between New Delhi and Islamabad over the Kashmir issue.