Pakistan dispatches relief goods for victims of Afghanistan's earthquake

The government of Pakistan, under the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has dispatched relief goods for those affected by the powerful earthquake that struck a remote border region of Afghanistan.

According to a press release issued by the prime minister’s office on Friday, the consignment arranged by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) consists of family tents, tarpaulins, blankets and emergency medicines.

The government has assured all possible support to ameliorate the sufferings of the Afghan families affected by the 6.1 magnitude earthquake which hit parts of Afghanistan on Wednesday, read the statement.

The earthquake has reportedly killed at least 1,000 people while injuring 1,500 more, officials said on Wednesday, with the toll expected to rise as desperate rescuers dig through the collapsed dwellings.

The Taliban government officials said houses were reduced to rubble and bodies swathed in blankets lay on the ground after the strong jolts. An unknown number of people remained stuck under rubble and in outlying areas, they added.

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“People are digging grave after grave,” said Amin Huzaifa, head of the Information and Culture Department in hard-hit Paktika province, adding that at least 1,000 people had died in that province alone. He said more than 1,500 people were injured, many critically.

“We believe that nearly 2,000 homes are destroyed,” the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, told reporters. The country’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada warned the death toll would likely rise further.

PM Shehbaz had earlier expressed his condolences on behalf of the country stating that “relevant authorities were working to support Afghanistan in this time of need.”

It was earlier reported that a convoy of trucks carrying relief assistance for the quake-hit population of Afghanistan will leave for Khost under the directives issued by the premier.

The convoy of eight trucks was loaded with relief goods arranged by NDMA, including 200 tents, 200 tarpaulins and 500 blankets, besides three trucks carrying life-saving drugs, and would use the Ghulam Khan Kalay Zang route.