PESHAWAR: The provincial administration of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, said on Friday it would provide full assistance to injured Afghans following a devastating earthquake that flattened entire settlements and killed about 2,200 people in the neighboring country on Tuesday.

A powerful magnitude-6.0 quake struck eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province near the Pakistan border, causing widespread destruction across five provinces and collapsing thousands of homes.

Since then, a number of aftershocks have rattled the region, intensifying fears among residents of further destruction.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur visited the Afghan consulate in Peshawar on Friday, expressing sorrow over the loss of life and signing the condolence book.

“The provincial administration will provide every possible assistance to the affected,” he said according to a statement issued by the KP government.

At the request of the Afghan consul general, the chief minister directed that an additional 1,000 tents and medicines be sent for the affected people.

“Those injured who come to Peshawar for treatment should be provided with every possible facility,” he added.

The Afghan consul general thanked Gandapur “for the wholehearted assistance to the victims,” according to the statement.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan share deep cultural roots, with Pashtun tribes straddling both sides of the porous frontier.

The province has also seen a spike in militant attacks, which Pakistani authorities attribute to cross-border militancy emanating from radical groups sheltering in Afghanistan, a claim that Kabul denies.

While Islamabad adopted a tough posture toward Afghanistan after string of deadly suicide attacks and launched a deportation campaign targeting Afghan refugees in 2023, local media reports suggest the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration has advocated for more constructive engagement with the Taliban regime amid ongoing security and humanitarian challenges.