New Delhi, November 13
After being at odds for the past couple of months, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has displayed two reconciliatory gestures towards New Delhi.
In a meeting with a visiting Taliban delegation, the Pakistan PM said Islamabad would “favourably” consider its request for transporting wheat as a humanitarian gesture.
Pakistan has also announced that it will release 20 fishermen from custody on Monday.
“The PM conveyed that within the present context Pakistan would favourably contemplate the request by Afghan brothers for transportation of wheat provided by India by means of Pakistan on an distinctive foundation for humanitarian functions and as per modalities to be worked out,” said the official Twitter handle of the Pakistan PM.
In October, the UN’s World Meals Programme (WFP) director in Afghanistan Mary Ellen had said they were in talks with India for wheat donation to Taliban managed Afghanistan. India had also separately announced a 50,000 tonne wheat aid to Afghanistan but said the condition of unimpeded access was not being met.
India has already sent a note verbale to Pakistan stating its intention to send trucks carrying 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan and seeking Islamabad’s transit permission.
Pakistan’s explanation for keeping trucks waiting at the Wagah-Attari integrated check post was that it needed time to plan out such a large number of trucks crossing its territory. It is not yet clear whether Pakistan will insist that the wheat be unloaded from Indian trucks and transported by Pakistani good carriers.
Pakistan also announced the release of 20 fishermen which is a miniscule proportion of the over 500 fishermen in its custody. Sources here see this gesture as an attempt to dial down maritime tensions and avoid retribution after its coast guard shot and killed an Indian fisherman and critically injured another for allegedly crossing the maritime boundary.
Before the killing of the fishermen, Pakistan was obdurate on two occasions. Its NSA did not attend the Delhi meet on regional security czars on Afghanistan hosted by NSA Ajit Doval last week. And a few days before that, Pakistan withdrew overflight permission to a recently reintroduced Srinagar-Sharjah flight.
