At least 1,400 people have been killed and thousands injured in Afghanistan after a devastating earthquake reduced entire villages to rubble.
Maryam Al Misnad, Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a phone call with Mohammad Younus Akhundzada, Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in the Caretaker Government of Afghanistan and Chairman of the Coordination Committee for Assistance to Earthquake Victims, following the deadly earthquake that left over 1,100 people dead in Afghanistan.
During the call, Al Misnad expressed sincere condolences to the victims of the earthquake that struck Afghanistan on Monday, praying for mercy for the deceased and a speedy recovery for the injured.
According to Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the minister “stressed the wise leadership’s commitment and generous directives to support the Afghan people in coping with the effects of the earthquake, emphasising the State of Qatar’s readiness to provide urgent assistance and relief needed to overcome the effects of this humanitarian disaster”.
The earthquake, measuring magnitude 6.0 and followed by at least five aftershocks, struck mountainous provinces near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border around midnight on Sunday.
The epicentre was located approximately 27 kilometres from Jalalabad at a shallow depth of eight kilometres, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Qatar expressed solidarity with Afghanistan on Sunday.
In a statement on Monday, Qatar’s foreign ministry extended the Gulf state’s condolences to the families of the victims, the caretaker government, and the people of Afghanistan.
“The State of Qatar expresses its solidarity with Afghanistan following the earthquake that strikes the eastern region of the country, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries,” the ministry said in a statement.
Rescue operations have been ongoing, with helicopters pressed into service to reach remote villages and aid stranded survivors.
“Operations continued throughout the night. There are still injured people left in the distant villages who need urgent evacuation to hospitals,” Aljazeera quoted Ehsanullah Ehsan, head of the Kunar Provincial Disaster Management Authority, as saying.
Villagers themselves have joined the efforts, using their bare hands to clear the rubble of simple mud and stone homes built along steep valleys.
According to the Afghanistan government officials, over 1,400 people have died, with more than 3,000 others injured, and more than 8,000 houses destroyed. Laghman province alone has dozens of injured residents, according to government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. Some of the hardest-hit villages remain inaccessible due to blocked roads, complicating the relief efforts.
The United Nations has mobilised emergency assistance, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announcing an initial $5 million in aid.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed that £1m in aid would be sent, saying it would be “channelled through experienced partners” such as the UN Population Fund and the International Red Cross to ensure it reached those in need.
India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar announced the delivery of 1,000 tents and 15 tonnes of food, with more relief supplies on the way.
As the rescue efforts continue and aid is mobilised, the focus remains on locating survivors, evacuating the injured, and providing immediate humanitarian relief to communities devastated by one of the deadliest earthquakes in the region in recent years.
