ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office expressed solidarity with Afghanistan on Sunday as the death toll from Saturday’s devastating earthquake, which struck the western regions of the country, surged past 2,000.
A powerful magnitude-6.3 earthquake and aftershocks on Saturday killed at least 2,053 people and injured 1,240 others across 13 villages in Afghanistan, Afghan government official Suhail Shaheen said.
Pakistan’s foreign office said it was “deeply saddened” by the tragic loss of lives and widespread damage in Afghanistan, extending condolences to the families of the victims.
“Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan during this difficult time,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) spokesperson said in a statement.
MoFA said Pakistan’s government is in contact with Afghan authorities to get a first-hand assessment of the “urgent needs” of those affected by the disaster.
“Pakistan will extend all possible support to the recovery effort,” MoFA added.
The development takes place amid strained ties between Islamabad and Kabul after Pakistan’s government on Tuesday warned illegal immigrants to leave the country before Nov. 1 or face deportation afterward.
Pakistani officials say hundreds of thousands of Afghans have traveled to Pakistan since foreign forces left Afghanistan and the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021. Even before then, Pakistan hosted some 1.5 million registered refugees, one of the largest such populations in the world, according to the United Nations refugee agency. More than a million others are estimated to live in Pakistan unregistered.
Islamabad has become increasingly anxious about the presence of Afghan nationals in Pakistan as its economic crisis worsens and it struggles to tackle rising militancy in the country.
Pakistan’s interior minister said earlier this week that 14 out of the 24 suicide bombings that have taken place in the country this year were carried out by Afghan nationals.