Pakistan permits India sending wheat, medicine to Afghanistan

Pakistan PM Khan urged international community “to prevent a humanitarian crisis and economic meltdown in Afghanistan.” (Reuters) 

LAHORE REUTERS Feb 15   
Pakistan will allow India to use its territory to transport 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and medicine to Afghanistan, beginning this month, Pakistani customs officials said on Tuesday.   
 The permission of such a convoy is rare by Pakistan, which has barred the entry of goods from India for years as the relationship between the two nuclear-armed nations has deteriorated.   
 It marks a response to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where poverty and hunger have spiralled since the Taliban took power last year.   
 The first convoy of 60 trucks will cross from India to Pakistan at the Wagah border - a key goods transit point between the two countries - on Feb. 22, Additional Director of Customs Beelam Ramzan told Reuters.   
 “The humanitarian assistance will be handed over to the World Food Program representative in Jalalabad,” Ramzan said, referring to the eastern Afghan city.