India ships tons of wheat to Afghanistan via Wagah Border

New Delhi: India has shipped several tonnes of wheat to the people of Afghanistan via the Wagah Border located in Lahore, Pakistan to help alleviate severe food shortages in the area.

According to the details, Pakistan had agreed to allow wheat to be sent from the neighbouring country via Wagah. A statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that India has donated 2,500 tons of wheat to Afghanistan on 50 trucks which reached Afghanistan via Pakistan.

Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay, tweeted: “Truly an honor to witness the flagging off ceremony of India’s wheat assistance shipment to Afghanistan at Attari today.”

“50,000 metric tonnes or more than 2,500 trucks of wheat is one of the largest food contributions done by any country to support Afghanistan in this difficult hour,” he added.

Pakistan allows India to use land route to send food aid to Afghanistan

Afghan officials said the trucks entered Pakistan via the Wagah border and reached Torkham in Afghanistan. A Pakistani Commerce Ministry official confirmed the development, saying food aid would be distributed through a United Nations (UN) agency.

It should be noted that flights between India and Afghanistan are closed and the easiest way to deliver aid is to deliver them via Pakistan. Last week, Pakistan allowed India to deliver wheat to Afghanistan via Wagah.

First shipment of 10,000 tonnes of wheat from India for the people of Afghanistan being despatched today from Attari-Wagah border crossing. @harshvshringla @FMamundzay pic.twitter.com/znv6FDH5qn

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) February 22, 2022

Under the agreement with India, Pakistan had allowed India to send wheat to Afghanistan by truck via the Attari-Wagah border in Lahore. The trucks will then travel to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, via Pakistan’s Torkham border, Foreign Ministry officials said last week.

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Afghanistan has been in the worst economic crisis since the Taliban took power, and the United States (US) has frozen $3.5 billion in assets. On February 11, 2022, Biden announced that half of the $3.5 billion in assets would be distributed to the families of 9/11 victims, with the rest going to help resolve the crisis in Afghanistan.

The UN has warned that 23 million Afghans could face a food crisis or emergency in the winter. Moreover, the World Health Organization (WHO) fears that 10 of Afghanistan’s 11 densely populated cities could suffer from food shortages and malnutrition.

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