Afghans starve for wheat stuck in India-Pakistan bureaucracy

Red tape ties up 50,000 tons of goodwill assistance for hungry until spring

20220211 India Pakistan border Wagah

Indian and Pakistani flags are lowered during a highly charged daily retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan when border gates are firmly shut.  © AP

TAHIR KHAN, Contributing writer

ISLAMABAD -- Even with millions of people in Afghanistan facing hunger during a harsh winter and deepening humanitarian crisis, a donation of 50,000 tons of wheat aid from New Delhi is stuck in bureaucratic limbo between India and Pakistan.

In October, India said it would provide 50,000 tons of wheat to Afghanistan and requested that Pakistan allow its transportation through Wagah to Attari, the entry point for goods between India and Pakistan. From there, it would go by road to Torkham, an Afghanistan-Pakistan crossing point.

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