On February 22 2022, India sent the first consignment of wheat that it had pledged to give Afghanistan- a country facing acute food shortage presently. The supply was effected by the Food Corporation on India and transported from the integrated check-post Attari (India) to Jalalabad (Afghanistan) by Afghan transporters.[i] On February 26, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay tweeted that the convoy reached the Afghan city of Jalalabad and the World Food Program (WFP) will distribute it to the needy families.[ii]
Earlier this year, responding to the appeal by the United Nations (UN) for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, India had promised to send 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat, to be transferred overland via Pakistan, but the initiative encountered some difficulties, given the suspension of transit trade between India and Pakistan since 2019. However, the fact that the grain was transported via Pakistan, is a noteworthy instance of the two countries setting aside their deep differences to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid to reach Afghanistan.
In a ceremony held at Amritsar on February 22, a convoy of the first 50 Afghan trucks loaded with about 2,500 tons of wheat and bearing banners that read, “A gift from the people of India to the people of Afghanistan,” was waved off by Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla at the Attari-Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan.[iii] Amb. Farid Mamundzay and World Food Program (WFP) Country Director Bishaw Parajuli were also present at the ceremony. The wheat was handed over in Jalalabad to the UN WFP, with which India had signed a pact to distribute the aid in Afghanistan. Amb. Mamundzay said “I thank the Indian government for the generosity displayed at a time when more than 20 million Afghans are facing crisis or the worse levels of food insecurity in more than three decades.” He said the wheat committed by India is “one of the largest food contributions done by any country in this difficult hour.”[iv] Parajuli of WFP stressed that, “All the help Afghanistan receives will be of extreme value and therefore this help coming from India is really timely and very important.” On March 8, India sent the third convoy of its humanitarian assistance carrying 2000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan.[v]
After the swift takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban last year, India, which was one of the key development partners of the country and had helped rebuild Afghanistan post-2001, had suspended its diplomatic presence in Kabul. The post-August 15, 2021 developments in Afghanistan have been a matter of grave concern for India. New Delhi’s foremost priority after the fall of Kabul was the evacuation of Indian citizens and Afghan partners from the country. India began the complex evacuation mission named “Operation Devi Shakti” by airlifting 40 Indians from Kabul to Delhi on August 16, 2021. Subsequently, a total of 669 people was evacuated from Afghanistan, comprising 448 Indians and 206 Afghans (including members of the Afghan Hindu/Sikh minority community) were evacuated by India amid a deteriorating security situation in Kabul and scramble by various nations to rescue their citizens.[vi]
New Delhi had stated that its “primary and immediate” concern was to curb any terrorism threat to India emanating from Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.[vii] At various international platforms, India has underlined the need to ensure that Afghan territory does not become a source of radicalisation and terrorism, regionally or globally and emphasised on the need to enhance our joint fight against the nexus of radicalisation, terrorism and the smuggling of drugs and arms in the region. India has called for a truly ‘inclusive’ and representative administration in Afghanistan- that brings in women and minorities and works on the preservation of the gains of the last twenty years. India’s first formal diplomatic engagement with the Taliban happened on 31st August 2021 when the Indian Ambassador to Qatar met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, a senior member of the Afghan Taliban and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taliban’s ‘interim’ government, at the behest of the Taliban.[viii] In that meeting India conveyed its concerns and expectations to the Taliban.
Over the past six months, India has been quite involved in shaping the thinking of the international community on Afghanistan and that was partly because India happened to be the Chair of UN Security Council in the month of August when many of the debates pertaining to Afghanistan were taking place on Afghanistan. India’s achievements as UNSC Chair at that point included a strong Resolution 2593 on the situation in Afghanistan demanding that the Afghan territory not be used to threaten any country or shelter terrorists.[ix] India has been involved in discussion related to Afghanistan in G20 format, Prime Minister Modi participated in the ‘Extraordinary Leaders’ Meeting on Afghanistan’ on October 12, 2021, to discuss response to the looming humanitarian crisis in the country. On November 10, 2021, India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval had hosted “the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan” where Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participated and discussed the future of Afghanistan and the looming humanitarian situation there. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, held the first India-Central Asia summit on January 27, 2022, which saw the formation of a joint working group aimed at tackling the humanitarian emergency. For New Delhi, such engagements are important as it strives to be an active member in regional discussions.
In January 2022, the UN asked the international community for $4.4 billion for Afghanistan for 2022 -- its largest ever appeal for humanitarian assistance for a single country. New Delhi, on its part has consistently emphasised the need for the international community to ensure that the people of Afghanistan have immediate and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance. When Pakistan was deliberately holding back the delivery of food grains from India, Iran had offered to facilitate.[x] Earlier India had sent five consignments consisting of half a million doses of coronavirus vaccines, along with 13 tons of essential medicine and winter clothing -- the latest batches being dispatched through Pakistan.[xi] In its annual budget presented in early February, India also allocated about $26.5 million in aid for Afghanistan[xii] – which indicates India’s concerns and commitment towards the people of Afghanistan who are under grave distress.
The Taliban leadership had commended India for its humanitarian assistance after receiving a fresh supply of medicines on the January 7, 2022. At the time, Taliban’s official central spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted that “The Islamic Emirate is grateful to India for its humanitarian assistance and cooperation”.[xiii]
To conclude, the situation in Afghanistan is extremely volatile and India is closely following the developments there. New Delhi has time and again reiterated the need for international community to work together in Afghanistan to address the critical humanitarian situation in the country. India’s sustained humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan only reiterates New Delhi’s commitment towards the special relationship it shares with the people of Afghanistan and that would continue despite challenges. Undoubtedly, India’s assistance is an important gesture of solidarity with the people of Afghanistan; but the security concerns, stemming from the Taliban’s proximity to Pakistan and the terrorist groups based there, will continue to be a concern for India.
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*Dr. Anwesha Ghosh is a research fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs.
Disclaimer: Views are personal.
Endnotes
[i] “Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan”. Press Release, MEA, GoI, February 22, 2022. Available at: https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/34885/Humanitarian_Assistance_to_Afghanistan (Accessed on 25.2.2022)
[ii] Farid Mamundzay (Afghan Ambassador to India) via twitter. Available at: https://twitter.com/FMamundzay?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor (Accessed on 28.2.2022)
[iii] “Modi govt sends first tranche of 2,500MT wheat to Kabul; India’s ‘Gift for people of Afghanistan’”. The Hindustan Times, Feb 22, 2022. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7OroY28AgY&t=21s (Accessed on 25.2.2022)
[iv] Ibid.
[v] Arindam Bagchi (MEA Spokesperson)Twitter handle @MEAIndia, March , 2022. Available at: https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/1501200196297904131?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet (Accessed on 9.3.2022)
[vi] “Evacuation of Indians and Afghans under ‘Operation Devi Shakti’ and shipment of humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan”. MEA Press Release, GoI. December 11. 2021. Available at: https://mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/34643/Evacuation+of+Indians+and+Afghans+under+Operation+Devi+Shakti+and+shipment+of+humanitarian+assistance+for+the+people+of+Afghanistan (Accessed on 25.2.2022)
[vii] “Afghan-origin terror prime concern: India”. The Hindu, September 2, 2021. Available at: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/main-concern-is-curbing-terror-threat-from-afghanistan-india/article61422760.ece(Accessed on 25.2.2022)
[viii] “Taliban Leader Who Met Indian Envoy in Doha Trained With Indian Army”. NDTV, September 1, 2021. Available at: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/sher-mohammad-abbas-stanikzai-the-taliban-man-india-spoke-to-today-in-doha-trained-with-indian-army-2525224 (Accessed on 25.2.2022)
[ix] “Adopting Resolution 2593 (2021), Security Council Condemns Deadly Attacks in Afghanistan, Calls for Combating Terrorism, Upholding Human Rights”. United Nation Security Council, August 30, 2021. Available at: https://www.un.org/press/en/2021/sc14620.doc.htm (Accessed on 25.2.2022)
[x] “Iran offers to assist India in transporting aid to Afghanistan,” The Indian Express, Jan 10, 2022. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/iran-offers-to-assist-india-in-transporting-aid-to-afghanistan-7714968/(Accessed on 25.2.2022)
[xi] “India Sends Wheat to Afghanistan through Pakistan.” Voice of America, February 22, 2022. Available at: https://www.voanews.com/a/india-sends-wheat-to-afghanistan-through-pakistan/6454082.html (Accessed on 25. 2.2022)
[xii] India’s Annual Budget 2022. Available at: https://prsindia.org/files/budget/budget_parliament/2022/Union%20Budget%20Analysis%20-%202022-23.pdf (Accessed on 25. 2.2022)
[xiii] Zabiullah Mujahid (Taliban’s official central spokesman) on twitter, Jan 7, 2022 Available athttps://twitter.com/Zabehulah_M33,