India keeps mum on sending aid to flood-hit Pakistan, restarting bilateral trade

Natural calamities triggered an acute crisis of grains and vegetables across Pakistan and triggered speculation about resumption of trade

India Thursday refrained from lending credibility to the speculation over sending humanitarian aid to Pakistan in the wake of the devastating flood in the neighbouring country or the resumption of bilateral trade.

“Regarding the floods that have hit Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shared his sadness at the devastation caused by the floods,” Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, told journalists in New Delhi. He was replying to a question on whether India would extend humanitarian assistance to Pakistan, where the devastating flood so far resulted in the death of at least 1,186 people, while 4,896 others were injured, 5,063 kms of roads damaged and 1,172,549 houses partially or completely destroyed.

“He (Modi) has extended heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, the injured and all those affected by the natural calamity. For the moment, that is all I have to say on the issue of assistance,” added Bagchi. He was commenting on the possibility of India sending

The MEA spokesperson was referring to the prime minister’s tweet on Monday expressing sadness over devastation caused by floods in Pakistan.

The office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimated that over 30 million people have been affected by torrential rains and flash floods across the country, leaving 6.4 million people in need of immediate support.

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Natural calamities triggered an acute crisis of grains and vegetables across Pakistan and triggered speculation if the government of the neighbouring country would resume importing food-items from India.

“More than one international agency has approached the government to allow them to bring food items from India through the land border,” Pakistan’s Finance Minister Miftah Ismail tweeted on Wednesday. “The government will take the decision to allow imports or not based on supply shortage position, after consulting its coalition partners and key stakeholders.”

Pakistan has already decided to import onions and tomatoes from Iran and Afghanistan in the wake of the food crisis.

“As regards the trade element, we have seen various statements on this matter. At this point, I have nothing further to add to those statements that we have seen from Pakistan,” Bagchi said.

After the Modi Government in August 2019 stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and reorganised the erstwhile state into two Union Territories, Pakistan announced suspension of its bilateral trade with India, but partially relaxed its ban in September 2019 by permitting trade in certain pharmaceutical products. There has not been any progress regarding resumption of India’s trade with Pakistan since then.

After Modi's tweet, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Islamabad had to suspend bilateral trade as the Government of India was committing a ‘genocide’ in Kashmir and denying the rights of the people of Kashmir.

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Sharif said that the Modi Government had forcibly annexed Kashmir by abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution of India. He added that he was ready to hold talks with his counterpart in New Delhi. “We cannot afford war. We will have to dedicate our meagre resources for alleviating poverty in our respective countries. But we cannot live in peace without resolving these issues,” said the prime minister of Pakistan.

“I thank Indian PM Narendra Modi for condolences over the human and material losses caused by floods. With their characteristic resilience the people of Pakistan shall, InshaAllah, overcome the adverse effects of this natural calamity & rebuild their lives and communities,” the prime minister of Pakistan posted on Twitter on Wednesday.

Sharif insisted on the resolution of the India-Pakistan dispute over J&K amid speculation over a bilateral meeting between him and Modi on the sideline of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at Samarkhand in Uzbekistan on September 15 and 16.