Pakistan dispatches humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan said Wednesday that it is dispatching immediate humanitarian aid comprising food and medicines to Afghanistan.

Three planes are being dispatched to Kabul as the first tranche, said a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

After the first immediate consignment through air, it said, further supplies would continue through land routes.

"Pakistan would continue to do its best to help Afghan brethren during the prevalent challenging environment," the statement added.

Islamabad urged the international community to play its role in helping the people of Afghanistan to avert possible humanitarian crisis.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi warned that Afghanistan is on the brink of a “humanitarian catastrophe.”

“We have all seen the reports of famine, food shortages, and soaring inflation in Afghanistan,” Qureshi said while addressing the Ministerial Coordination Session jointly hosted by the US and Germany on Wednesday.

Pakistan was one of only three countries that had recognized the first Taliban government in 1996.

Islamabad is believed to have a degree of influence over Taliban, which announced their interim government on Tuesday.