Pakistan dispatches relief goods to quake-hit Afghanistan

KARACHI: On the special directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Thursday dispatched relief goods for the earthquake people of Afghanistan.

According to details, the NDMA dispatched consignment including family tents, tarpaulins, blankets and emergency medicines, said the spokesperson of NDMA.

“Pakistan has assured all possible support to ameliorate the sufferings of the Afghan people affected by the 6.1 magnitude earthquake which hit parts of Afghanistan on Wednesday, (Jun 22, 2022”, it said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday directed relevant authorities to support Afghanistan in time of need.

The prime minister in a message from his Twitter handle had said that he was deeply grieved to learn about the earthquake in Afghanistan, resulting in loss of innocent lives. “People in Pakistan share the grief and sorrow of their Afghan brethren,” he said.

In addition, former minister Imran Khan directed his KP government to facilitate medical facilities for the affected people in the neighbouring country.

Following Imran Khan’s directives, KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has directed the chief secretary and health minister to send medical teams and aid to the quake-hit areas of the country.

Earthquake kills at least 950 in Afghanistan

According to a Reuters report, an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 killed 950 people in Afghanistan early on Wednesday, disaster management officials said, with more than 600 injured and the toll expected to grow as information trickles in from remote mountain villages.

Photographs on Afghan media showed houses reduced to rubble, with bodies swathed in blankets lying on the ground.

Helicopters were deployed in the rescue effort to reach the injured and fly in medical supplies and food, said an interior ministry official, Salahuddin Ayubi.

Wednesday’s quake was the deadliest since 2002. It struck about 44 km (27 miles) from the southeastern city of Khost, near the border with Pakistan, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGC) said.