India strengthens soft power in Afghanistan: Report

India is strengthening its soft power in Afghanistan by providing critical aid through Iran, thereby sidelining a once-essential Pakistan, reported Nikkei Asia.

A spokesman of the United Nations World Food Programme recently informed that an Indian donation of 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat is scheduled to arrive in Afghanistan in the coming months. This would fulfil a commitment made by New Delhi in March to ship the wheat through Iran's Chabahar port. The goods will eventually cross the Iranian border into Afghanistan's Herat region.

Hunger persists in Afghanistan, with the World Food Programme claiming that more than 19 million people are suffering from acute food insecurity, which occurs when a lack of adequate food puts lives or livelihoods in immediate danger, according to Nikkei Asia, a Japanese publication that provides Asian news and analysis to a global audience.

The decision not only strengthens India's position as a crucial donor of essential aid to Afghanistan but also underscores New Delhi's efforts to craft positive relations, despite the fact that it does not formally recognise the Taliban administration that took power in August 2021.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told Nikkei Asia, "India is an important country in the region, and Afghanistan values it. We want to have good, friendly, and strong people-to-people relationships with India. The fact that India has just announced a donation of 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat is a great help to the people of Afghanistan, and we are very thankful to the people and government of India for this support."

(ANI)