India sends 2,500 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan

India has sent 50 trucks carrying 2,500 tonnes of wheat for crisis-hit Afghanistan after Pakistan gave “exceptional” permission for the shipment to pass through, officials said Wednesday.

According to the United Nations, western countries sharply reduced aid after the Taliban takeover last year, leaving Afghanistan facing a “devastating” humanitarian crisis with a majority of the 28 million population in need of help.

In response to an appeal from the UN, India decided to gift 5,000 tonnes of wheat, and the first convoy of lorries was flagged off by officials on Tuesday at a ceremony in Amritsar near the border with Pakistan.

Pakistan said that it “agreed on an exceptional basis” to allow the shipment to traverse through its territory.

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Farid Mamundzay, Afghan ambassador to India, tweeted that the wheat donation is “one of the largest food contributions done by any country to support (Afghanistan) in this difficult hour.”