Pakistan dispatches another humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

Consignment of 21 trucks loaded with rice, sugar, flour and other items handed over to IGP Paktia

PESHAWAR:

Pakistan on Wednesday dispatched another 21 trucks, carrying 28 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan as part of its efforts to avert humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

The latest consignment was sent under the auspices of Pak-Afghan Cooperation Forum (PACF) and Kashmir Orphan Relief Trust (KORT) via the Kharlachi border crossing in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Kurram district.

Read more: US announces additional humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan

The consignment had trucks loaded with rice, sugar, flour, cooking oil, pulses and medicine were handed over by PACF Chairman Habib Ullah Khan, KORT Chairman Choudhry Muhammad Akhter (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz) and Additional Assistant Commissioner Kurram Asmat Ullah Wazir to IGP Paktia Molvi Umer Mukhlis.

Afghan counterparts gratefully accepted the aid and prayed for better relationships with each other in future.

Last month, Pakistan donated 16 truckloads of relief goods to Afghanistan which were handed over to Afghan Minister for Refugees Haji Khalil Ur Rehman Haqqani and Deputy Minister for IDPs, Pakistan’s Ambassador in Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan had said on Twitter.

Afghanistan's Taliban government is pressing for the release of billions of dollars of central bank reserves as the drought-stricken nation faces a cash crunch, mass starvation and a new migration crisis.

Also read: Humanitarian needs rising rapidly in Afghanistan: UN

Afghanistan parked billions of dollars in assets overseas with the US Federal Reserve and other central banks in Europe, but that money has been frozen since the Taliban ousted the Western-backed government in August.

A spokesperson for the finance ministry had said that the government would respect human rights, including the education of women, as he sought fresh funds on top of humanitarian aid that he said offered only "small relief".

"The money belongs to the Afghan nation. Just give us our own money," ministry spokesperson Ahmad Wali Haqmal told Reuters. "Freezing this money is unethical and is against all international laws and values."