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India dispatches 2,500 tons of wheat to Afghanistan via Pakistan
India on Tuesday dispatched 2,500 tons of wheat in aid to Afghanistan through Pakistan.
The consignment is part of the 50,000 tons of wheat India has pledged to deliver to Afghanistan within the next three months.
The wheat will be handed over in Jalalabad to the United Nations’ World Food Program, with which India has signed a pact to distribute the aid in Afghanistan.
It will cross through Attari-Wagah border, which has been closed to Indian goods since August 2019, when Islamabad suspended trade relations with New Delhi.
Pakistan has said it is opening the land route as an exception – only for the transit of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
“We covered a long distance to reach India. Now we will take the donated wheat back to Afghanistan through Wagah route,” a truck driver said.
India meanwhile announced it was sending the wheat in October in response to appeals made by the United Nations for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said at the time New Delhi was ready to provide more humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the director of the World Food Program in India, Bishow Parajuli, said: “All the help Afghanistan receives will be of extreme value and therefore this help coming from India is really timely and very important.”
He said over half of the Afghan population was grappling with hunger, stressing the need for continued humanitarian assistance to the country.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special representative for Afghanistan, has questioned Pakistan’s commitment to the welfare of the Afghan people, citing Islamabad’s policies over the past three decades.
Khalilzad said in a post on X that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif advocated for the rights of Afghan women during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Sharif said: “Fundamental rights of the Afghan people — especially women and girls — must be respected.”
Responding to the remarks, Khalilzad said Pakistan’s policies over the past 30 years raise questions about Sharif’s commitment to Afghan welfare.
He cited Pakistan’s support for militant groups against US forces and what he described as the poor treatment of Afghan refugees as examples.
Khalilzad also said Afghanistan and Pakistan need and should have much better relations, adding that “a reset is necessary.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Rabab Fatima, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that Misri underscored the need to keep addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people as a priority.
Misri also appreciated the role of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reaffirmed India’s continued cooperation with the United Nations on Afghanistan.
The meeting comes as Afghanistan continues to face humanitarian and economic challenges, with international agencies warning of significant needs among the Afghan population.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called for pragmatic and coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan, saying the country’s long-term stability is closely linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
Speaking during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Tileuberdi said humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan remains essential but alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency.
He said Kazakhstan supports a “pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step” approach to international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.
Tileuberdi also said Kazakhstan is working with the UN to operationalize the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
He said the success of the centre should be measured by the results and assistance it delivers to the region.
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