M A I N   N E W S

Pak refuses transit facility for Indian wheat

An Afghan Northern Alliance soldier guards a Russian humanitarian convoy in Kabul on Sunday. —Reuters photo

Islamabad, January 20
Pakistan has said it would not extend transit facility for Indian wheat being supplied to Afghanistan under the World Food Programme (WFP).

“We have decided not to allow the transit Indian wheat through Pakistan due to reports that it was infested with germs and diseases which can harm Pakistani wheat,’’ Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Khair Muhammad Junejo said at a joint press conference, which was also addressed by Commerce Minister Abdul Razak Dawood and Privatisation Minister Altaf M. Saleem.

According to The News, the Food Minister said the government had also communicated its reservations regarding the reports of infestation of Indian wheat to the WFP and told them that Pakistan would not take any risk, which might harm its wheat.

To a question, he said the WFP had requested Pakistan for the provision of 200,000 tonnes of wheat, of which it had lifted 80,000 tonnes while the remaining would be lifted soon. UNI

2 US Marines die in copter crash

Kabul, January 20
A US Marine helicopter carrying seven persons crashed in northern Afghanistan, US officials said today.

Two US Marines were killed, and five wounded when the copter crashed in a remote mountainous region of northern Afghanistan today, the BBC said quoting a US military official.

Two of the injured were said to be in a critical condition.

The CH-53-E helicopter crashed at about 08.30 am (IST), 30 minutes after leaving Bagram airbase to resupply US forces in the north of the country.

“Right now, we don’t have any indication of hostile fire,” the BBC said, quoting US Marines spokesman Lieut James Jarvis on its website.

Lieutenant Jarvis said rescue personnel were at the site of the crash in a mountainous area near Bagram airbase.

“I’m not going to speculate as to what might have brought this aircraft down,” he said. AFP