NEW DELHI, Feb 22: India on Tuesday despatched 2,500 tonnes of wheat as humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan via Pakistani land route. India also reiterated its pledge to supply a total of 50,000 tonnes of wheat to the war-torn nation through the World Food Programme (WFP).
The first convoy of 50 trucks carrying wheat was flagged off by foreign secretary Harsh Shringla along with Afghan ambassador Farid Mamundzay and WFP country director Bishow Parajuli at a ceremony held in Amritsar. Wheat from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will be transported through the integrated check post at Attari to Jalalabad in Afghanistan by Afghan transporters.
This shipment is part of the commitment made by the Indian government to supply 50,000 tonnes of wheat for the Afghan people, and the assistance will be delivered in multiple consignments to the WFP in Jalalabad, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
The Indian government decided to gift the wheat in response to appeals by the UN for humanitarian aid for 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 statement said. Shringla said Tuesday’s consignment was the first of many that would be sent over the next two to three months to help the Afghan people.
Mamundzay lauded the Indian government for its timely initiative and said New Delhi’s offer of 50,000 tonnes of wheat was “one of the largest food contributions done by any country to support Afghanistan in this difficult hour. I thank the Indian government for the generosity displayed at a time when more than 20 million Afghans are facing crisis or the worst levels of food insecurity in more than three decades,” Mamundzay said.
The external affairs ministry’s statement said India remains “committed to its special relationship with the people of Afghanistan” and added that the Indian side has already supplied 500,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, 13 tonnes of life-saving medicines and 500 units of winter clothing. These consignments were handed over to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kabul.
India first made the offer to send 50,000 tonnes of wheat via Pakistani land routes on October 7, and the matter was held up for more than four months because of negotiations with the Pakistani side to finalise modalities. The Indian government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with WFP on February 12 for the distribution of food grains within Afghanistan. The MoU outlines the commitments and responsibilities of the Indian government and WFP and other basic conditions required as the Indian side is paying for the delivery of the wheat.
Pakistan cleared the plan on the condition that the wheat can be moved through its territory only in Afghan trucks. Once these trucks deliver the wheat to WFP warehouses, the UN agency will use its fleet of trucks and its workers to move the food grains to locations where they are needed.
The shipping of the wheat began three days after India sent 2.5 tonnes of medical assistance and winter clothing to Afghanistan on Saturday. The Indian side is also eyeing the option of sending more wheat and other materials to Afghanistan via Iran’s Chabahar port. Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said during a phone conversation with his Indian counterpart in January that Tehran would cooperate with New Delhi in shipping humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
(Manas Dasgupta)