The Taliban movement’s commercial attache in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, Mowlawi Nazirollah Hanafi, was at an advanced stage of negotiations with the Pakistani Ministry of Food and Agriculture for the purchase of 500,000 mt of wheat, Bakhtar news agency reported on Wednesday. Afghanistan faces a shortfall of some 2.0 million mt of food this year, even after emergency food provision by WFP, while Pakistan is reported to have had a bumper harvest.
Hanafi had also had discussions with Pakistani customs which focused on ways to help Afghan traders exporting fresh fruits to Pakistan, the report said. Afghan fruit growers have lost export earnings as a result of the UN Security Council’s international flight ban on Afghanistan.
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