India set to begin shipment of wheat to Afghanistan via Pak from Tuesday

India is likely to send on Tuesday its first shipment of 10,000 tonnes of wheat to the people of Afghanistan through Pakistani land routes after months of negotiations with Islamabad.

As per modalities finalised with Pakistan, the shipment will be sent through the Attari-Wagah land border crossing, people familiar with the development said.

India had sent a proposal to Pakistan on October 7 last year, seeking the transit facility to send 50,000 tonnes of wheat to the people of Afghanistan via Pakistani soil, and it received a positive response from Islamabad on November 24.

Following the Pakistani response, both sides were in touch to finalise the modalities for the transportation of the shipments.

In the last couple of months, India delivered large quantities of life-saving medicines and other supplies as part of its humanitarian aid to war-torn Afghanistan.

The last consignment of medical supplies was delivered on Saturday. It was the fifth consignment of humanitarian aid to that country.

India has been pitching for providing unimpeded humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the country.

India has not recognised the new regime in Afghanistan and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul besides insisting that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country.

India has been concerned over the recent developments in Afghanistan.

It hosted a regional dialogue on Afghanistan on November 10 that was attended by NSAs of Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The participating countries vowed to work towards ensuring that Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for global terrorism and called for the formation of an "open and truly inclusive" government in Kabul with representation from all sections of Afghan society.