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HomeDiplomacyIndia dispatches 2,500 MT wheat aid to Afghanistan through Pakistan, on board...

India dispatches 2,500 MT wheat aid to Afghanistan through Pakistan, on board 50 Afghan trucks

Convoy flagged off at Attari-Wagah border. Part of India’s total 50,000 MT wheat aid, it will be handed over to the UN’s World Food Programme in Jalalabad.

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New Delhi: India Tuesday sent 2,500 MT (metric tonnes) of wheat to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan through Pakistan. The wheat, carried by 50 Afghan trucks, will be handed over to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) in Jalalabad.

The aid is part of the commitment made by New Delhi to supply 50,000 MT of wheat for the people of Afghanistan.

The convoy of trucks was flagged from Attari, Amritsar, Tuesday by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Afghan Ambassador Farid Mamundzay and WFP country director Bishaw Parajuli, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

“In response to appeals made by the United Nations for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, the government of India has decided to gift 50,000 MT of wheat to the people of Afghanistan. The supply will be effected by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and transported from ICP Attari (India) to Jalalabad (Afghanistan) by Afghan transporters,” the statement from the ministry said.

The convoy will cross over into Afghanistan through the country’s Torkham border crossing with Pakistan. 

The distance between Torkham and Jalalabad is about one-and-a-half hours by road. Jalalabad is the capital of the Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.


Also read: India likely to start wheat aid to Kabul via Pakistan Tuesday, Afghan trucks to take 1st batch


‘Gift from the people of India’

Although New Delhi has not officially recognised the Taliban regime since the Islamist group took over Afghanistan in August 2021, India had firmed up plans to send humanitarian aid for the Afghan people in the subsequent months. 

“The wheat assistance will be delivered in multiple consignments and will be handed over to the United Nations World Food Programme in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In this regard, the government of India signed an agreement with the WFP for the distribution of 50,000 MT of wheat within Afghanistan,” the ministry said.

WFP’s Jalalabad Area Office is responsible for all its programming in the three provinces of Nangarhar, Lagman and Kunar in Afghanistan. India had signed an MoU with the WFP in Rome on 12 February to have the wheat consignment distributed across Afghanistan.

“Truly an honour to witness the flagging off ceremony of India’s wheat assistance shipment to Afghanistan at Attari today,” envoy Mamundzay said in a tweet, adding that the total aid of 50,000 metric tonnes was “one of the largest food contributions by any country to support Afghanistan in this difficult hour”. 

Each bag is stamped with the text: “Gift from the people of India to the people of Afghanistan” in English, Pashto and Dari.

Double-bagged, fumigated

According to official sources, India has decided that it will deliver the entire 50,000 MT of wheat from the 2020-21 RMS (Rabi Market Season) in jute bags that hold 50 kg each.

The sacks are double-bagged for preservation of the consignment from moisture and any infection. The minimum shelf life of the wheat is one year from the date of dispatch and necessary information would be clearly mentioned on the bag, sources said.

The consignment was fumigated before being handed over for transportation, in order to protect it for the long journey. Guidelines for necessary precautions to preserve the consignment during the passage would be given to the Afghan transport agency, the sources said.

The FCI is providing necessary phyto-sanitary and fit-for-consumption certificates before handing over the consignments of wheat. India has done a prior quality testing of the wheat at a WFP-approved laboratory.

New Delhi has already supplied four batches of medical consignments to Afghanistan, consisting of essential life-saving medicines and vaccines. It has already sent 5,00,000 doses of the Covaxin vaccine, 13 tonnes of essential lifesaving medicines and 500 units of winter clothing. These consignments were handed over to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Indira Gandhi Hospital, Kabul.

(Edited by Saikat Niyogi)


Also read: ‘Weapons, night-vision devices’ left by US in Afghanistan found at LoC, says senior Army officer


 

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