With a grave humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan, India on Monday said it is willing to stand by Afghans and called for unimpeded access to aid providers to the country as also a “non-discriminatory” distribution of relief supplies across all sections of the society. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that as an immediate neighbour, India is monitoring developments in Afghanistan with “understandable concern”, and noted that the issue of travel and safe passage that can emerge as an obstacle to humanitarian assistance should be immediately sorted out.
In a brief virtual address at the UN high-level meeting on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, the minister also heightened the threat of rising poverty levels and said the same could have a catastrophic effect on regional stability.
“Today, I wish to underline that in the face of a grave emerging situation, India is willing to stand by the Afghan people, just as in the past,” he added.
The world community must come together to create the “best possible enabling environment” for helping the Afghan people and addressing challenges such as efficient logistics in the current situation.
India’s contributions to the humanitarian requirements of Afghan society have included providing more than one million metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan over the past decade. Last year, India shipped 75,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan via Iran’s Chabahar port.
India’s efforts are also reflected in some 500 development projects in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan in critical areas such as power, water supply, road connectivity, healthcare, education, agriculture and capacity-building.
Jaishankar noted the issue of travel and safe passage “can emerge as an obstacle to humanitarian assistance” and should be “immediately sorted out”. He said: “Those who wish to travel into and out of Afghanistan should be granted such facilities without obstruction.
“The normalisation of regular commercial operations of Kabul airport would not only assist in that regard, but then become the basis for a regular flow of relief material.”
Jaishankar said UN Security Council resolution 2593, which was passed at a meeting held under India’s presidency of the body last month, should guide the world community’s approach towards Afghanistan in the coming days.
He also recalled India’s role as the largest regional donor for reconstruction and development efforts in Afghanistan, with pledges totalling $3 billion in recent years. India’s approach to Afghanistan has always been guided by its “historical friendship with its people” and this will continue to be the case, he said.
