First batch of Indian wheat arrives in Afghanistan

New Delhi, Feb 26 : The first convoy of 2,500 MT of Indian wheat sent as assistance reached Jalalabad on Saturday, Afghanistan Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay said. “The first convoy of 2500 MT of wheat assistance reached Jalalabad this morning. The 50 trucks convoy dispatched from ICP Attari on Wednesday traveled through Pakistan to Afghanistan,” Mamundzay said in a tweet. He said World Food Program Afghanistan would now be distributing this aid to thousands of needy families across Afghanistan. Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan, Abdul Qahar Balkhi welcomed the arrival of the first batch. “IEA welcomes the arrival of 2500 out of 50000 ton Indian assisted wheat from Amritsar to Nangarhar via trucks,” he said in a tweet. “Also, we thank the government of Pakistan for allowing the passage of the wheat trucks through its soil,” he said. The proposal to send wheat to Afghanistan was given by India to Pakistan in October last year, and Pakistan agreed to it in November end. The bags carrying the wheat say it is a “Gift from the people of India to the people of Afghanistan” in English, Pashto and Dari. The Indian government had also signed an MoU with WFP for the distribution of wheat within Afghanistan. AO SHK2111