ISLAMABAD: Pakistan dispatched 105 tons of humanitarian relief to Afghanistan on Wednesday, including food, medicines, tents, blankets and bubble mats, to assist victims of recent earthquakes in the country’s east.
The earthquakes — one measuring magnitude 6.0 on Aug. 31 and a magnitude 5.5 aftershock two days later — have killed at least 1,400 people, injured over 3,000, and flattened more than 5,400 homes in provinces including Kunar and Nangarhar, officials said. Rescue efforts are hampered by remote, mountainous terrain and landslides.
“Following my telephone call with Foreign Minister Muttaqi, the Government of Pakistan today dispatched 105 tons of humanitarian relief assistance to Afghanistan,” Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar said in a statement.
“The consignment includes essential food items, medicines, tents, blankets, and bubble mats, aimed at supporting those affected by the recent earthquakes in the country,” he added.
International organizations, including the United Nations and Médecins Sans Frontières, have called for urgent humanitarian support, citing thousands trapped under rubble, stretched medical facilities and rising aftershocks amid the cold, rugged landscape.
This earthquake is among the worst to strike the region in recent years, underscoring Afghanistan’s vulnerability, driven by its location along active fault lines, fragile infrastructure, and limited emergency response capacity.
