US officials said on Thursday that the Taliban did not formally request assistance after the incident. strong earthquake More than 1,000 people were reported dead on Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan.
The bewildered response of the extremist regime to the disaster caused rescuers to dig up the wreckage with their hands.
Afghanistan has been deprived of most international financial aid since the Taliban. closed In August 2021, after the disastrous departure of US President Joe Biden’s troops, the country forced out.
Taliban Supreme Leader Haybatullah Akhundzada made unusual appearance in public To ask the international community to “effortlessly help the Afghan people affected by this great tragedy” on Wednesday.
“When such a big event happens in any country, the help of other countries is needed. It is very difficult for us to respond to this great event,” he said.
Many countries, including the European Union, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Japan, were quick to offer millions of dollars in disaster relief. However, US Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan Ramiz Alekbarov said on Wednesday that “the Taliban do not formally ask the UN to mobilize international search and rescue teams or acquire equipment from neighboring Afghan authorities,” officials said.
Alekperov feared that the earthquake would “aggravate the daily security burden” in Afghanistan, which is already a humanitarian crisis zone.
UN officials confirmed Wednesday that they had not received any requests from the Taliban regime to mobilize search and rescue teams or to bring in rescue equipment from other countries.
Afghans search for survivors in the village of Gyan, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. A powerful earthquake struck the rugged mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday morning. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Nuruzi)
Associated Press (AP) quotation UN officials and aid agencies said they did not appear to be interfering with the Taliban’s efforts in the quake zone, but were not helping much.
The Taliban Defense Ministry said it had sent dozens of helicopters with emergency supplies, but AP reporters on Thursday saw Taliban fighters doing little more than touring the affected provinces.Paktika and Khost to look at the damage:
Under leaden skies in Paktika province, the epicenter of Wednesday’s earthquake that destroyed hundreds of homes, men dug several long trenches on the side of the mountain overlooking their village. They prayed for about 100 bodies wrapped in blankets and buried.
In villages in the Gayane district, where Associated Press reporters traveled for several hours on Thursday, families had spent the previous rainy night outside in search of missing loved ones, removing pieces of collapsed roofs and manually carrying rocks. Taliban fighters entered the area with vehicles, but few helped dig up the rubble.
There were several traces of heavy equipment – only one bulldozer was seen. Ambulances passed, but there was no other help for the survivors.
“We ask the Islamic Emirate and the whole country to come and help us. Nothing and nothing, not even a tent to live in,” said one unfortunate survivor. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is what the Taliban call their government.
On Thursday, the Taliban argued rescue operations are “almost complete”.
“The rescue operation is over, there is no one under the rubble,” a Taliban military spokesman said.
At the same time, Abdul Kahar Balkhi, spokesman for the Taliban State Department, has asked for more help than any other country without any conditions – and more than just food and medicine.
“We call on disaster management organizations and the international community to provide urgent and comprehensive humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people so that those affected can rebuild their livelihoods,” Balkhi said.
Source: Breitbart
