Pakistan sends 13 more trucks of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

• Pakistan sends 13 trucks carrying 174 tons of flour, rice, and pulses to Afghanistan.
• On Saturday, Pakistan sent four trucks carrying 70 tons of food items.
• Turkish Red Crescent has also pledged aid to Afghanistan which was to be sent to Kabul via Pakistan on Saturday.

Pakistan on Sunday sent 13 more trucks of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan via the Torkham border.

According to a statement by the Pak-Afghan Cooperation Forum, which made arrangements for the food trucks to be sent, 174 tons worth of flour, rice, and pulses were sent to the country.

The aid was handed over by PACF's Habibullah Khan to Afghan Deputy Minister for Refugee Affairs Arsalah Khan at the Torkham border crossing point.

A handing over ceremony was also held which featured brief remarks by Habibullah Khan regarding the aid. 

According to the statement, Afghan officials — in charge of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Molvi Sherzad, Police Chief Jalalabad Mohammad Nizami, and in charge of the Afghan Torkham Border S Ghaziullah Hashmi — were also in attendance.

"Afghanistan counterparts gratefully accepted the aid and prayed for better relationships with each other in future," the statement said.

Later, Pakistan Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan shared images of the trucks and provided a break down of the aid sent.

According to the ambassador, the 174 tons included 140 tons of flour, 16 tons of sugar and 18 tons of rice.

Today's consignment follows one sent on Saturday when eight truckloads of humanitarian aid were sent to Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Pak-Afghan Cooperation Forum.

The aid, which included flour, rice, and pulses, was handed over by Landi Kotal Assistant Commissioner Akber Iftikhar to the Torkham border crossing in charge, Ghaziullah Hashmi, the statement said.

"Afghanistan counterparts gratefully accepted the aid and prayed for better relationships with each other in [the] future," the forum's statement said.

The Pak-Afghan Cooperation Forum via the Ghulam Khan border on Friday, too, handed over four trucks carrying 70 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

The trucks were carrying flour, sugar, rice, oil, and pulses. Ameer of Khost received the aid from Assistant Commissioner of Miranshah.

It bears mentioning here that besides sending aid to Afghanistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan and other government officials have time and again urged the international community to engage with the Taliban-led government to avert a possible humanitarian crisis in the country.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Red Crescent has pledged aid to Afghanistan via Pakistan to feed internally displaced people in need amid turmoil following the Taliban's takeover, the organisation head said Friday.

Half a million people have been displaced in Afghanistan in recent months, according to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, a number which would grow if health services, schools, and the economy break down.

Turkish Red Crescent President Kerem Kinik said the shipment of food would be sent from Pakistan towards Kabul on Saturday and provide for 16,000 people for a month.

"There is a serious food crisis right now. Public order needs to be provided for local production," he told Reuters by telephone, citing a halt in international trade, drought and a decline in international aid as reasons for the problem.