Anticipating war, Pakistan stocking up food in PoK villages, moving wheat depots to safer areas
Amritsar: A security personnel stands guard at the Attari-Wagah border, near Amritsar, Saturday, May 3, 2025. The Attari-Wagah border between India and Pakistan has been closed due to heightened security measures following a terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed. (PTI Photo/Shiva Sharma)(PTI05_03_2025_000062A)
Pakistan is reportedly stocking up food, especially wheat, in villages near the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) fearing Indian incursions, according to reports. The authorities are reportedly replenishing wheat flour for at least two months in vulnerable areas along the border areas fearing Indian incursions.
PoK head Chaudhry Anwarul Haq has reportedly issued instructions to stock up wheat in six LoC villages in Pakistan, including Neelum, Jhelum Valley, Haveli, Poonch, Kotli and Bhimber. "In light of the prime minister’s instructions and the uncertain situation, we are now increasing our storage capacity to meet a two-month demand," a senior official told Karachi-based newspaper The Dawn.
The officials have also decided to shift food depots from areas which they claim could come under shelling or military activity to relatively safer zones.
Earlier the day, Pakistan banned Indian flag carriers in all its ports in a tit-for-tat response to India's Pakistani-flagged ships from entering Indian ports and prohibiting Indian-flagged vessels from visiting ports in Pakistan. India had claimed that the ban was to ensure the safety of Indian assets, cargo and connected infrastructure, in the public interest and for interest of Indian shipping.
Soon after, Pakistan issued a notice, stating that Indian flag carriers shall not be allowed to visit any Pakistani port and Pakistani flag carriers shall not visit any Indian port [and] any "exemption or dispensation shall be examined and decided on case to case basis."
India also banned the import of goods originating from or transiting via Pakistan and suspended the exchange of inbound mail and parcels. The move is expected to be a huge blow to Pakistan's already ailing export sector as a lot of goods, including textiles and agricultural produce, used to come to India via informal or third-country routes. Pakistan now amounts to just 0.06 per cent of India's total trade.
Besides, the ban on Pakistan-flagged ships will hit the country's shipping and logistics sector as they now won't have access to Indian-origin intermediaries and products used in manufacturing and exports.
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