‘True first responder’: India send quake relief to Kabul

In the wake of the earthquake that struck Afghanistan on Wednesday causing massive destruction and loss of lives, India on Friday said that as a “true first responder”, it had despatched 27 tons of emergency relief assistance in two flights for the “people of Afghanistan”.

The relief assistance consists of essential items including family ridge tents, sleeping bags, blankets, and sleeping mats, New Delhi said, adding that the relief consignment will be handed over to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and Afghan Red Crescent Society in Kabul. “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,” New Delhi said on Friday.

As already reported, for the first time since August last year when India had pulled out all its diplomats from Kabul following the Taliban takeover, New Delhi had on Thursday announced it had deployed a “technical team” at its Embassy in the Afghan Capital 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”. This is the first time since August last year when Indian personnel are being positioned at the Indian Embassy once again and the team is believed to include Indian diplomats as well.

This follows the major move by New Delhi three weeks ago aimed at engaging with the Taliban regime and containing Pakistan’s influence there, when a visiting team led by senior diplomat J.P. Singh had held talks in Kabul with senior Taliban leaders including the regime’s “foreign minister” Amir Khan Muttaqi.