Pakistan has suspended vegetable imports from India due to rising tensions between the two countries along their military controlled border, known as the LoC, reports The New Indian Express.
Pakistan's Department of Plant Protection (DPP) told reporters that agricultural imports from India via the Wagah border crossing and Karachi port had been stopped. Permit issuing for future imports has also been halted, officials said.
Pakistani importers and customs clearing agents claimed that the department had stopped the import of agriculture commodities from India without warning or written order because of increased tensions across the LoC.
But Imran Shami, DPP chief and part of Pakistan's national food security and research ministry, sought to dispel this impression.
'We have stopped import of tomatoes and other fresh vegetables in order to protect our farmers. We have enough tomato and other vegetables stocks, which we import from India only in case of shortages in the domestic market,' he said.
