ISLAMABAD — The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) in Islamabad Tuesday inaugurated the relief land bridge to support the brotherly Afghani people, which is composed of 200 trucks loaded with 30,000 food baskets and 10,000 winter bags with a total weight of 1.92 tons.

Upon the launch, 16 trucks representing the first batch of the land bridge was sent to Afghanistan with a load of 360 tons of food and shelter aid, targeting several Afghani areas.

The Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf Bin Said Al-Malki, in remarks to the media, said that this assistance is in implementation of directives by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense, to stand by the brotherly Afghani people, noting that this bridge was launched in synchronization with the Saudi relief air bridge.

“There are successive convoys that will arrive in Afghani territories over the next coming days,” Al-Malki said, stressing that Saudi Arabia’s wide leadership is highly keen on helping the brotherly Afghani people, especially in winter, during which the country suffers from very cold weather conditions and hard living conditions.

KSrelief Branch Director in Pakistan Dr. Khalid Al-Othmani said that, under direct follow-up from KSrelief Supervisor General Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah, this land convoy is heading to several Afghani areas, including Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Herat and Kunduz, among others, noting that all convoys heading to Afghanistan through the land bridge are expected to arrive within the next 10 days.

Chairman of the Pakistani Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani commended Saudi Arabia’s efforts towards the Afghani people, stressing that Saudi Arabia is the first country to help the Afghanis and took the initiative to hold the 17th Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad to discuss mechanisms to support the Afghani people. — SPA