Imtiaz Gul
Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan should be delivered on war-footing. Should Pakistan allow India to use its land route? Imtiaz Gul says yes!
A couple of somewhat encouraging developments with regard to Afghanistan took place over the weekend. First, the Treasury Department  of the United States finally granted a pair of licenses to allow  American humanitarian aid for the people of Afghanistan.Â
“Treasury is committed to facilitating the flow of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan and other activities that support their basic human needs,” said Andrea Gacki, director of the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, told media in Washington.
“Treasury will continue to work with financial institutions, international organizations, and the nongovernmental organization (NGO) community to ease the flow of critical resources, like agricultural goods, medicine, and other essential supplies, to people in need.
The US will continue to uphold and enforce sanctions against the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and other sanctioned entities,” Gacki added.
Secondly, the European Union also followed suit, indicating its Humanitarian Aid Coordinator  could soon be heading back to Kabul for an on ground aid needs’ assessments.
Humanitarian Aid To Afghanistan: An Opportunity for India & Pakistan
Does this represent an opportunity for détente between India and Pakistan too?
How?
Well, Pakistan could open overland route for Indian humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
Access to Indian exports to Afghanistan has been a festering issue for quite some time. Former president Ashraf Ghani had been demanding overland access to India via Pakistan for its exports to Afghanistan.
Islamabad refused this stating its own reasons, mostly rooted in the acrimony coming from the BJP-led New Delhi and Ghani-ruled Kabul. Both peddled narratives that mostly bordered on a motivated canard against Pakistan.
But can the looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan – shortages of food, agricultural inputs and medicine – prompt India to tag along its western allies – the US and European Union – for delivering urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the needy ones in Afghanistan?
Will Pakistan put the Indian belligerence and obstinacy aside and allow aid to flow through its territory as a facilitation for the Afghan people?
Extraordinary Situation Calls For Extraordinary Steps
Why not if the situation so demands? The humanitarian needs in Afghanistan demand a non-political, non-partisan approach by the entire international community. Both India and Pakistan could follow the West in doing so as a first towards resumption of their stalled relations, perhaps. Will PM Modi take such a move by Pakistan as an entry point for reopening formal communication channels with his counterpart Imran Khan?
