2,500 Tonnes of Indian Wheat En Route to Afghanistan

2,500 metric tons of wheat grains are on the way from Chabahar port in Iran to Afghanistan, the World Food Program in Afghanistan said.

According to the Head of Communications of WFP in Afghanistan, Philippe Kropf, the wheat grain will be handed over to “WFP at a milling factory in Herat where the grains will be milled, fortified and prepared for distribution across the country.”

Kropf said that these grains are part of an in-kind contribution of a total of 10,000 metric tons of wheat from the Government of India to WFP in Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate’s Spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, urged India to help Afghanistan in the diplomatic and economic fields.

“We want the people of Afghanistan to be helped in the economic and diplomacy field. Their security and stability be extended and also their economic condition be built up and the development projects be supported,” he said.

However, economists suggested that humanitarian assistance cannot address Afghanistan’s economic crisis in the long term.

“Such aid has no economic benefit. Even if trillions of dollars are provided to the humanitarian sector, it will be beneficial but just to create some problems for the long term. It cannot alleviate poverty and joblessness,” said Abdul Naseer Rishtia, an economist.

“The assistance which has been provided by the international community after the fall of the republican government is mainly focusing on the humanitarian sector. This aid has not been driven to create job opportunities in the country or in infrastructural sectors,” said Mir Shikib Mir, an economist.

Kropf said the humanitarian needs across the country remain extremely high and this contribution will help us reach some of the most vulnerable families across Afghanistan.

“In 2022, thanks to the generous contributions from all our partners we were able to distribute 1 million metric tons of food and disburse 326 million dollars in cash and vouchers and support 23 million people,” he said.

Based on the official figures, India supplied 40,000 MTs of wheat through Pakistan last year.