First shipment of Indian wheat reaches Afghanan

The first shipment of 2,500 metric tonnes of wheat sent India for Afghan people through the land border route as part of a humanitarian aid reached Jalalabad town of Afghanan on Saturday.
The consignment, which was part of the 50,000 metric tonnes that the Indian government has committed to send to the war-torn country, was dispatched on February 22.
Afghanan’s Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay said the convoy of 50 trucks carrying the grain arrived in the Afghan city and that the aid would now be dributed among people the World Food Programme (WFP).

ExplainedAid, but not recognitionIndia has not recognised the new regime (Taliban) in Afghanan and has been pitching for the formation of a “truly inclusive government” in Kabul, besides insing that the Afghan soil must not be used for any terror activities against any country.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, along with Mamundzay and WFP country director Bishaw Parajuli had on February 22 flagged off the convoy of trucks at a ceremony at Amritsar’s Attari border crossing.

On February 12, India had inked a memorandum of understanding with the WFP for the dribution of wheat in Afghanan. India had sent a proposal to Pakan on October 7 last year, seeking the transit facility to send 50,000 tonne wheat to the people of Afghanan via the country and it received a positive response from Islamabad on November 24.
The Minry of External Affairs had said that India decided to “gift” the wheat to the people of Afghanan in response to appeals made the United Nations for humanitarian assance to the war-torn country.

India has already supplied 5 lakh doses of Covaxin vaccines and 13 tonnes of essential lifesaving medicines to Afghanan.
India has been pitching for providing unimpeded humanitarian aid to the country to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis there.