Indian aid to quake hit Afghanistan: At the United Nations Security Council briefing on Afghanistan, India vowed to express its support for the quake-hit Afghanistan. India offered its deepest condolences to the victims and their families who were affected by the ‘terrible’ earthquake in Afghanistan and pledged to support them during this difficult time.

On June 22, A massive Earthquake of 5.9 magnitudes struck Afghanistan claiming the lives of thousands of people and rendering 1500 injured in the provinces near Khost province.

Indian Ambassador to the UN said, “At the outset, I express deepest condolences to the victims and their families and all those impacted by the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan. India shares the grief of the people of Afghanistan and is ready to provide assistance and support in this hour of need.”

First consignment of India’s earthquake relief assistance for the people of Afghanistan reaches Kabul. Being handed over by the Indian team there.

Further consignment follows. pic.twitter.com/6v1oYSRZLO

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) June 23, 2022

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his condolences, saying he was “deeply saddened.” “India stands by the people of Afghanistan in their difficult times and is ready to provide all possible disaster relief material as soon as possible,” he said.

He pointed out that India has direct interests in ensuring that peace and stability return to Afghanistan as a neighboring country and a long-standing ally.

India also supported resolution 2615, which was unanimously passed in UNSC in December 2021 and stands for providing humanitarian relief to Afghanistan. He added “We note the briefing by the Emergency Relief Coordinator on the working of the resolution. We hope that the ‘humanitarian carve outs’ of this Resolution are fully utilized by the UN agencies and their aid partners,”

India reaffirmed the need for neutrality, impartiality, and independence in humanitarian assistance. “Regardless of ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs, all people should be able to seek and receive humanitarian relief. The most vulnerable individuals, such as women, children, and members of underrepresented groups, should receive aid first”.

Indian aid to Afghanistan

India sent its first consignment of relief to Kabul on Thursday. 30,000 MT of wheat, 13 tonnes of medications, 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and various shipments of winter apparel have already been sent by India as humanitarian aid. India is a “true first responder,” said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

These humanitarian supplies were delivered to the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul, as well as UN specialized agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP).

The Government of India signed an agreement with the UNWFP for the distribution of 50,000 MT of wheat within Afghanistan to ensure fair and just distribution of India’s wheat assistance. The shipment of this wheat to Afghanistan has already begun.

India has also sent a technical team to Kabul to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian aid following the earthquake in eastern Afghanistan

The team has been also assigned to visit India’s embassy in Kabul, according to the External Affairs Ministry. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August, the embassy has been closed.

“We are currently inching closer to Afghanistan with additional medical supplies and food grains. We also gave one million doses of the “Made in India” COVAXIN COVID-19 vaccine to Iran to give to Afghan refugees. Furthermore, we have helped UNICEF by donating nearly 60 million doses of polio vaccine and two tonnes of essential medicines “During the Council briefing, the UN PR to India stated.

Tirumurti went on to say that India is closely monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan and is actively engaging with the international community to ensure agreement on issues of security, peace, and stability.

India condemns Gurudwara attack

India also strongly condemns the June 18 terrorist attack on the Gurudwara Dashmesh Pita Sahibji in Kabul. “The terrorist attack on places of worship of minority communities, as well as the targeting of innocent civilians, is a serious concern,” the Ambassador said.

In reference to these attacks, Tirumurti told the UN Security Council on Thursday, “We need to see concrete progress in ensuring that such proscribed terrorists, entities or their aliases do not get any support, tacit or direct, either from Afghan soil or from the terror sanctuaries based in the region.”

He also called for unified international action against the terrorist outfits such as Al-Qaeda, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Lashkar-e-Taiba and their linkages with the Taliban.

He mentioned specifically that “The presence of ISIL-K in the country, as well as their ability to carry out attacks, has increased significantly. ISIL-K, which reportedly has a base in Afghanistan, continues to threaten terrorist attacks on other countries “.

ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for last week’s attack on Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul and has threatened to strike elsewhere.

The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) is an affiliate of the Islamic State militant group active in South Asia and Central Asia.