NEW DELHI, 22 January 2022, (TON): As nearly three weeks have passed since Pakistan placed all the necessary arrangements to facilitate Indian transportation of wheat to Afghanistan via the Wagah border, New Delhi has yet to communicate the date and other information about the first consignment.

At a weekly news conference here on Friday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said Pakistan had allowed India to transport wheat using its land route to Afghanistan on an exceptional basis.

“We have conveyed to the India side, necessary details of arrangements put in place by Pakistan, and for about 3 weeks now, are awaiting further response from India of the date of dispatch and other information regarding the first consignment.

India announced to donate 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan as humanitarian assistance in October and sought Pakistan permission to transport food grain through the Wagah border.

Pakistan after careful consideration granted the permission but the two sides locked horns over the modalities.

Since Pakistan otherwise never permits the two-way trade between India and Afghanistan through its borders, it initially proposed that wheat should be transported through Pakistani trucks under the UN banner.