ISLAMABAD: More than 700 trucks carrying international humanitarian aid entered Afghanistan through Pakistan despite the near-total border closure between the two countries.
The United Nations said the convoy crossed through Torkham following clashes that disrupted land routes between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Olga Cherevko, an OCHA spokeswoman in Afghanistan, said the trucks carried food and other critical humanitarian supplies.
Meanwhile, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan Mo Yahya said 724 humanitarian trucks had crossed into Afghanistan.
He thanked Islamabad and others involved in keeping the humanitarian supply route operational amid ongoing border restrictions.
Afghanistan Faces Growing Humanitarian Crisis
The aid delivery comes as Afghanistan faces worsening food insecurity and severe child malnutrition.
The World Food Programme warned earlier this month that acute child malnutrition had reached critical levels across the country.
According to the WFP, nearly 14 million Afghans face acute hunger following earthquakes, climate disasters and mass returns from Iran and Pakistan.
Furthermore, the prolonged border restrictions have severely disrupted humanitarian logistics and complicated efforts to deliver essential supplies.
WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau previously said the conflict had disrupted key routes used for humanitarian deliveries.
Fortified biscuits for Afghan schoolchildren also faced major delays after Pakistan routes became difficult to use.
Aid agencies eventually rerouted the supplies through Iran, but fighting there disrupted that alternative route.
The biscuits later reached Afghanistan after a lengthy land and sea journey through countries including Jordan, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
The latest convoy provides a vital humanitarian lifeline as Afghanistan continues to face severe food and logistical challenges.
