From Delhi, with love: Trucks with 2.5k tonnes of wheat leave Attari for Kabul

A LITTLE over four months after India proposed to Pakistan about sending wheat to Afghanistan, the first convoy of trucks, carrying 2,500 metric tonnes of wheat, was flagged off from Attari-Wagah border to Afghanistan as a humanitarian gesture.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Afghanistan’s ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay, flagged off 50 trucks along with World Food Program country director Bishaw Parajuli.

The wheat was brought in trucks from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns in Amritsar and the bags in these trucks were unloaded into trucks that had come from Afghanistan to receive the first consignment. They are likely to take three days to reach Afghanistan via Pakistan.

Officials said the sacks are double-bagged for preservation of the consignment from moisture and infection, and shelf life of the wheat is a minimum 1 year from the date of dispatch. They said fumigation of the consignment has been undertaken before handing over for transportation.

The FCI is providing necessary phytosanitary (for import requirements of plant-based exports) and fit-to-consume certificates before handing over. It is also getting the wheat quality-tested by a WFP-approved laboratory, officials said.

Each bag is stamped with “Gift from the people of India to the people of Afghanistan” in English, Pashto and Dari, officials said.

Shringla said, “There is a strong people-to-people connection between India and Afghanistan. We are extending our humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in the form of 50,000 tonnes of wheat. We are flagging off our first consignment of 2,500 tonnes in 50 Afghan trucks today. It’ll be delivered to the World Food Program for dissemination.”

Afghan envoy Mamundzay, who hasn’t been to his country since the takeover by the Taliban, said: “I am back to [the] historic city of Amritsar after less than 6 weeks & this time to witness the flagging off ceremony of India’s wheat assistance shipment…. Amritsar, a beautiful city with rich history and proud culture, is the shortest land route to Afghanistan and has historically proven to be the game-changer not only for ‘aid but for trade’ in this region. For over 2,500 years, the Grand Trunk Road linked the Indian Subcontinent with Central Asia via Kabul while passing through Amritsar.”

He said free trade without barriers is the “only way forward for lasting peace and economic prosperity” in this region. “It is an honor to witness the flagging off ceremony of India’s wheat assistance shipment…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 in this difficult hour.”

“Free aid is good but it is not the solution. Afghanistan can develop only if trade is allowed through the borders and there are no restrictions,” he said.