This is the first time India does not have its feet on the ground in Afghanistan, as it evacuated all diplomats in August.
India’s decision to send 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and life-saving medicines to Afghanistan through the Wagah border in Pakistan without conditionalities marks the first tangible engagement with the Taliban ever since it captured Kabul in August last.
By doing so, India is walking the talk on providing humanitarian aid to the nation that became a basket case following crippling sanctions and an international freeze on its assets. UN estimates suggest about 55% of the Afghan population, which would work out to about 22.8 million people, face food insecurity this winter.