ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, on Tuesday assured all possible assistance to Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi after a deadly earthquake killed more than 1,400 people in Afghanistan, the Pakistani foreign office said.

Sunday night’s powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck several provinces, causing extensive damage. It flattened villages and trapped people under the rubble of homes constructed mostly of mud bricks and wood that were unable to withstand the shock.

The rough terrain was hampering rescue and relief efforts, forcing Taliban authorities to air drop dozens of commandos to evacuate the injured persons from places where helicopters could not land.

Dar telephoned his Afghan counterpart on Tuesday to convey condolences on the tragic loss of lives, with thousands injured in last week’s earthquake, according to the Pakistani foreign office.

“He offered prayers for the victims and bereaved families, reaffirmed Pakistan’s solidarity with the Afghan people, and assured readiness to extend all possible support as required by the Afghan side,” it said.

The earthquake, which leveled homes made of mud and stone in Afghanistan’s areas bordering Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was the deadliest since June 2022, when tremors of magnitude 6.1 killed at least 1,000 people in the country.

The Taliban government, which is only recognized by Russia, has appealed for assistance from the international community and the humanitarian sector. However, help for Afghanistan is in short supply due to competing global crises and reduced aid budgets in donor countries.

In a media briefing in Geneva on Tuesday, Indrika Ratwatte, the UN’s resident coordinator for Afghanistan, warned of a surge in casualty numbers and said rescuers were scrambling in a “race against time” to reach the mountainous and remote area hit.

“We cannot afford to forget the people of Afghanistan who are facing multiple crises, multiple shocks, and the resilience of the communities has been saturated,” Ratwatte said, while urging the international community to step forward. “These are life and death decisions while we race against time to reach people.”