Fight against Covid-19: Pakistan donates medicines to Afghanistan

LANDIKOTAL: The Pakistani authorities donated seven containers of Covid-19 relief medicines to Afghanistan on Tuesday.

A ceremony was held at Zero Point at Torkham border to hand over the medicines to the Afghan authorities.

Commandant Khyber Rifles Col Rizwan, Chief Collector Customs (North) Asif Mahmood Jah, Afghan trade attaché’ in Peshawar Fawad Arsh, Khyber Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry members, customs standing committee convener Ziaullah Sarhadi, Federal Board of Revenue officials and others attended the ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Asif Mahmood Jah said Afghanistan had suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He said that Covid-19 had also dealt a blow to the economy of Afghanistan.

“Being Muslims, we feel the pain of our Afghan brothers and sisters,” he maintained. He said they had asked medicines companies in Pakistan to donate Covid-19 medicines to Afghanistan.

The chief collector customs said seven containers packed with anti-viral injections, Covod-19 relief medicines, facemasks, syringes and other related medicines were handed over to Afghan border officials at Torkham border.

He said the donated medicines were worth Rs250 million.

Jah said they would donate surgical equipment to Afghanistan in the coming weeks if the security situation improved.

Asif Jah said they wanted to enhance trade ties with Afghanistan.

Fawad Arsh thanked Pakistan for donating the Covid-19 relief medicines to Afghanistan. He also thanked Pakistan for hosting around four million Afghan refugees for the past four decades.

He said Afghanistan and Pakistan were two brotherly Muslim countries and they should strengthen their trade and other ties.

Fawad Arsh said he would convey the goodwill message to the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad and the rest of the Afghan cabinet members in Kabul. He said Covid-19 hit all the countries around the globe but it severely hit Afghanistan. He said Afghanistan needed surgical equipment and oxygen.