Taliban rebels block trade with India through Pakistan

Taliban rebels have stopped all imports and exports from India through transit routes of Pakistan after their recent takeover in Afghanistan, the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) has said.

FIEO Director General Ajay Sahai said that the terror group has stopped the movement of cargo through transit routes of Pakistan, thereby stopping imports from the country. "We keep a close watch on developments in Afghanistan. Imports from there come through the transit route of Pakistan. As of now, the Taliban has stopped movement of cargo to Pakistan, so virtually imports have been stopped," he said.

India has long-standing relations with Afghanistan, especially in trade, and also has significant investments in Afghanistan. Currently, the Indian export profile includes sugar, pharmaceuticals, apparel, tea, coffee, spices and transmission towers. The FIEO has expressed concern that dry fruit prices may go up in the coming days as India imports about 85 per cent of dry fruits from Afghanistan.

After the Taliban entered Kabul and the Afghan government led by President Ashraf Ghani collapsed, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in India has been accelerating its operation to evacuate diplomats and members of the Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities.

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is in New York to chair events at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), said: "I think at this time, these are early days and our focus on safety and security of the Indian nationals who are there."

US President Joe Biden has said that American troops may stay in Afghanistan beyond the initially stated August 31 mark to safely evacuate Americans via Kabul airport, asserting that "no American will be left behind".

(ANI)