With the war-torn nation already hit by the financial crisis, the hardline Islamist leadership said sanctions imposed by Western countries following the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces last year meant they were at a disadvantage in their ability to face Wednesday disaster in Khost and Paktika. provinces. The death toll rose steadily on Wednesday as news of casualties spread from inaccessible areas in the mountains, and the country’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, warned that it was likely to rise further. The quake affected areas already affected by heavy rains, causing rockslides and mudslides that hampered rescue efforts. Describing the aftermath as people dug into the rubble to retrieve the dead and wounded, Mohammad Amin Huzaifa, head of information and culture at Paktika, said: “People are digging grave after grave.” Footage released by the Taliban shows residents digging a large moat to bury the dead. Huzaifa said more than 1,500 people had been injured, many in critical condition. “People are trapped under the rubble,” he told reporters. A woman in Paktika province who was left homeless by the earthquake is trying to warm up. Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty Images The catastrophe comes as Afghanistan faces a severe economic crisis that has gripped it since the Taliban invasion last year, amid growing concerns about the ability of the Taliban and international organizations to respond quickly. While large international organizations continue to operate in Afghanistan, the takeover of the Taliban has led other agencies and governments to cut aid programs in a country where about 80% of the budget came from foreign aid. Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a senior Taliban official, said the government had “appreciated and welcomed” aid pledged by other governments and aid agencies such as Médecins Sans Frontières and the Red Cross. But the 5.9 magnitude earthquake – originally referred to as a magnitude 6.1 earthquake and the deadliest in the country for more than 20 years – had caused so much damage and suffering that it needed more help. “Unfortunately the government is under sanctions, so it is not financially able to help people as much as it needs to,” he said. earthquake map “Aid needs to be scaled up a lot, because this is a catastrophic earthquake that has not been experienced for decades.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the global agency is “fully mobilized” to help, with UN officials confirming the development of health teams and supplies of medicine, food, emergency kits and an emergency shelter in the area. . Tomas Niklasson, the European Union’s special envoy for Afghanistan, wrote on Twitter: “The EU is monitoring the situation and is ready to coordinate and provide EU emergency assistance to the people and communities affected.” Pakistan, where officials say one person was killed in the quake, has said it will send emergency aid – including tents – across the border. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says its teams in Khost and the Afghan capital, Kabul, are working with the Taliban government and other lending agencies. “We know that many of the healthcare facilities do not have sufficient resources and a natural disaster like this will push those in the affected area to their limits,” Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in a tweet. The British Red Cross said its teams were sending food, medicine, housing, water and temporary shelter to the area near the border with Pakistan. An ambulance transports the quake victims to a hospital in Paktika province. Photo: EPA The devastation is a huge challenge for the Taliban, who have largely isolated the country as a result of their hardline Islamist policies – particularly the subjugation of women and girls. Even before the Taliban invaded, Afghan emergency teams were deployed to deal with the natural disasters that often plague the country. But with only a handful of planes and helicopters left over from the Taliban’s return to power, any immediate response to the latest disaster is even more limited. Karim Nyazai was in the provincial capital and returned immediately to find his village devastated and 22 members of his extended family dead. “I was away from my family living in a remote village in the Gyan area. “I went there as soon as I found a car early in the morning,” he told the Guardian. “The whole village is buried. Those who managed to get out before they all fell managed to get the bodies of their loved ones out of the rubble. There were corpses wrapped in blankets everywhere. “I lost 22 members [extended family] including my sister and three of my brothers. More than 70 people in the village died. “ A survivor, Arup Khan, 22, who was pulled from a collapsed hostel, described the moment the quake struck. “It was a horrible situation. Screams were heard everywhere. “My children and family were under the mud.” The United States, whose troops helped overthrow the original Taliban regime and remained in Afghanistan for two decades until Washington withdrew them last year, was “deeply saddened” by the quake, the White House said. “President Biden is monitoring developments and has instructed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other federal government partners to evaluate US response options to help those most affected,” said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. statement. Wednesday’s quake struck around 1.30am. at a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles), about 47 kilometers southwest of Khost, according to the United States Geological Survey. It was felt as far as Lahore in Pakistan, 480 km from the epicenter at Khost.
