Trucks carrying wheat and medical supplies lined up along the Attari-Wagah land border on Tuesday as India readies its first shipment of humanitarian aid to be sent to Afghanistan. India will send 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and medical essentials to Afghanistan via Pakistan to help the nation fight the humanitarian crisis it has slumped into following the Taliban takeover of the war-torn nation.
Later in the day, Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla flagged off the consignment in the presence of Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay. “We are extending our humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, in the form of 50,000 tonnes of wheat. We are flagging off our first consignment of 2,500 tonnes in 50 Afghan trucks, today. It’ll be delivered to the World Food Program for dissemination,” said Shringla.
“This consignment will go from Attari ICP, Jalalabad, via Pakistan; many such consignments will be sent to fulfil the humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in the next 2 to 3 months,” he added.
India earlier sent life-saving medicines to Afghanistan over the past few months and sent the fifth such shipment last Saturday. Afghanistan’s healthcare and economy is under severe duress due to sanctions imposed on the nation’s Taliban regime who took control following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan after two decades of its presence.
https://twitter.com/FMamundzay/status/1496056072117043203?s=20&t=Ez4M_NJBYuOHq4PUHdPHMA
The Afghan envoy to India from the previous democratically elected regime Farid Mamundzay expressed his gratitude following the gesture shown by the Indian government. “ I thank the Indian government for the generosity displayed at a time when more than 20 million Afghans are facing a crisis or the worst levels of food insecurity in more than 3 decades. I also thank WFP and our mission in India for their contribution to make this “worthy cause” possible under challenging circumstances. I hope there will be no more barriers to humanitarian aid today, tomorrow and forever,” Mamundzay said in a tweet.
Afghan lorry drivers who will carry the consignment back home also expressed their gratitude towards the Indian government. Speaking to news agency ANI, one of the truckers said that a huge economic crisis has crippled Afghans back home. “There is an utmost need for wheat in Afghanistan. People there don’t have any money and are poor. We thank India for the help,” the lorry driver said. Another trucker said that he feels relieved and happy that India is sending these consignments to help its neighbours.
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