India Stands in Solidarity with Afghan People: MEA on Earthquake in Afghanistan

A day after sending relief material to earthquake-hit Afghanistan, India on Friday said it stands in solidarity with the Afghan people and remains firmly committed to providing them with required relief assistance.

India has already dispatched 27 tons of relief material in two flights for the people of Afghanistan as a ”true first responder” to address their difficulties, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

A powerful earthquake hit Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province on Wednesday that killed around 1,000 people and injured over 1,500.

“In the wake of the tragic earthquake that struck Afghanistan on June 22, causing massive destruction and loss of precious lives, the government of India, as a true first responder, has dispatched 27 tons of emergency relief assistance in two flights for the people of Afghanistan,” the MEA said.

The relief assistance, it said, consists of essential items, including tents, sleeping bags, blankets and sleeping mats.

The relief consignment will be handed over to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) in Kabul, the MEA said in a statement.

“As always, India stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, with whom we share centuries old ties, and remains firmly committed to provide immediate relief assistance for the Afghan people,” it said.

In a separate development, India on Thursday resumed its diplomatic presence in Kabul as it deployed a ”technical team” in its embassy in the Afghan capital, over 10 months after it pulled out its officials from the mission following the Taliban’s capture of power.

“In order to closely monitor and coordinate the efforts of various stakeholders for the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance and in continuation of our engagement with the Afghan people, an Indian technical team has reached Kabul today and has been deployed in our embassy there,” the MEA said on Thursday.

The first relief consignment reached on Thursday and the second on Friday In the last few months, India has supplied several consignments of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to help the Afghan people, reeling under severe economic stress and shortage of food following the Taliban’s capture of power.

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