“The government is working to the best of its ability,” Anas Haqqani, a senior Taliban official, wrote on Twitter. “We hope the international community and aid agencies will also help our people in this difficult situation.” Given that most emergency aid can be classified as humanitarian as opposed to development aid, countries should be able to argue that aid is allowed under the US State Exemption Exemptions. Although there are gray lines between the two forms of aid, the money to deal with an earthquake is clearly part of the humanitarian work, and the UN aid agency OCHA immediately coordinated a response in cooperation with the relief services. However, calls for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan have met poorly this year despite the drought and the collapse of the economy, and without replenishment the crisis will further burden the funds. The number of aid agencies operating in the country has decreased, as has access via the international airport. The International Rescue Committee – probably the largest remaining service, staffed as much as the UN or even more – said it was developing mobile health teams and working with authorities to provide cash support and assistance. The Italian emergency medical team announced that it had sent seven ambulances and personnel to the areas closest to the quake zone. The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said its disaster relief teams are heading to Afghanistan and that money will be released from disaster relief funds. In addition to the financial aid, the Afghan Red Cross said it had sent 4,000 blankets, 800 tents and tarpaulins, 1,500 washbasins and hundreds of mattresses, pillows, blankets and kitchen utensils. Ambulances were heading to Logar, Khost, Paktika and Paktia provinces, but in the short term the issue is access to the quake-hit areas, which are located in one of the most inaccessible areas of the country. Kabul’s rudimentary international airport will be tested. Flights run regularly in and out of the airport, but security has proven to be a problem. Iran, Germany and the EU were among the countries and institutions that submitted bids. However, this does not mean that there will be no complications under the sanctions law, as humanitarian organizations have avoided the risk of sending cash to Afghanistan if they are considered to touch Taliban-linked accounts. The episode could serve as a reminder to the international community of how underfunded the overall relief effort in Afghanistan is. Overall, the diplomatic trajectory remains the non-recognition of the Taliban, largely because of their discrimination against women. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every day at 7 p.m. BST This week, the United Nations banned two Afghan education ministers from traveling abroad for any peace and stability talks after the Security Council removed them from the sanctions waiver list. The UN has agreed that 13 officials could remain on the list of exemptions for another three months, unless two months later a UN member opposes the extension. The Taliban backtracked in March on their commitment to lift the ban on high school girls, saying they would remain closed until a plan was drawn up under Islamic law to reopen. The ruling left the Taliban denied access to their assets abroad and heavily funded by the World Bank. The previous regime depended on overseas assistance.
