Not via Pak, India to send 20,000 tonnes wheat to Afghanistan through Chabahar port

Months after the Taliban captured power in Kabul in August 2021, India had announced an assistance of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghan people as they were reeling under a severe food crisis.

India on Tuesday announced the supply of 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan, through the Chabahar Port in Iran. The announcement was made at the first meeting of the India-Central Asia joint working group on Afghanistan.

Months after the Taliban captured power in Kabul in August 2021, India had announced an assistance of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghan people as they were reeling under a severe food crisis. Subsequently, the consignments were sent to Afghanistan using the land route through Pakistan. Islamabad had granted the transit facility after nearly months of discussions.

"The sides took note of the current humanitarian situation and agreed to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people," a joint statement India-Central Asia joint working group said.

It said the country representative of the UNODC in Afghanistan highlighted the partnership of India and UNODC in fighting the menace of narcotics in Afghanistan and thanked New Delhi for "providing humanitarian aid for the Afghan drug user population." "Upon their request, India offered capacity building training courses for the relevant stakeholders/partner agencies of UNODC and the relevant officials/stakeholders of Central Asian Republics in the field of countering illegal drug trafficking," the statement said.

It said the participants thanked India for holding the first Joint Working Group Meeting on Afghanistan at senior officials level and agreed to continue consultations in this format on a regular basis.

India has not yet recognised the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul besides insisting that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country.

India has been pitching for providing unimpeded humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the country.

The first meeting of the India-Central Asia joint working group on Afghanistan in New Delhi focused on threats related to terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking as well as the humanitarian situation in the war-torn country.