PM Modi extends condolences to flood victims as Pakistan Finance Minister says he may consider reopening trade

Pakistan Finance Minister says Islamabad could consider importing Indian vegetables and essentials

Extending “heartfelt condolences” to victims of the floods in Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 29, 2022 said he was saddened by the situation, in a rare outreach to the neighbouring country on a day Pakistan’s Finance Minister said he could consider reopening trade routes with India.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar pitched for more regional trade and for India’s role in helping the neighourhood to be more “generous” and “non-reciprocal” as it was in Sri Lanka.

“Saddened to see the devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, the injured and all those affected by this natural calamity and hope for an early restoration of normalcy,” Mr. Modi said in a tweet in the evening.

Both Mr. Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif are expected to attend the SCO summit due to be held at Samarkand in Uzbekistan on September 15-16.

The MEA did not respond to questions about whether the Prime Minister’s message indicated that New Delhi was already in touch with Islamabad over the flooding crisis, in which more than 1,100 people have died. Ministers in Pakistan have said that nearly a third of the country was “under water” due to the incessant rain.

Diplomatic sources told The Hindu that Pakistan had so far not requested aid from India, nor had it been offered.

However, speaking to the media in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that given the extent of the calamity, the Pakistani government could consider reversing its three-year-old ban on trade with India, and open trade routes for vegetables and other essential commodities.