Hectic talks on to get Pak onions back on road

Following instructions from external affairs minister S M Krishna, Indian high commission officials are in hectic parleys with Pakistani authorities to get that country to resume onion exports to India by land through the Wagah border.

''We have initiated talks and are hopeful that we will find a solution to this problem. This way we would be able to sort out the problem caused by onion shortage in the country,'' S M Krishna said in New Delhi on Friday.

However, according to a report, Pakistan is blowing hot and cold and has apparently expressed disappointment over India being slow in fulfilling its commitments on exporting cotton to that country.

While preferring the land route, India has also requested Pakistan to look into the option of onion exports in bulk through rail and sea routes.

Pakistan has not banned exports through these routes. However, the sea route is time-consuming and also costs considerably more, affecting government's plans to control onion prices.

Pakistan imposed a ban on export of onions through the land route on Thursday after 300 India-bound trucks loaded with about 3,000 tonnes of the commodity had reached the Wagah border near Amritsar.