Nearly 1,000 people were killed and significant damage was wrought in the early hours of June 22 by an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 that struck the Afghan provinces of Khost and Paktika. Since Afghanistan lacks a working mechanism for responding to natural disasters, hundreds of people have been hurt and the death toll is certain to rise.
The country’s eastern area, where Paktika is situated, is home to numerous isolated mountain communities.
This isolation is making it more difficult for the Taliban’s haphazard government to organise rescue operations.
There may be horrifying tales of fatalities and destruction when more information becomes available.
Although the Taliban leadership has started a rescue mission with helicopters to reach the injured and bring in food and medical supplies, the nation urgently needs assistance from abroad.
It could take days or even weeks for the rescuers to find all the corpses in a place like Afghanistan where there is a lack of sophisticated gear to clear the wreckage. Afghanistan already experiences internal conflict.
As a result of the Taliban’s refusal to change its methods, it has become one of the world’s most isolated nations and is currently experiencing a serious economic crisis.
Despite the Taliban’s obstinacy, now is not the time to settle old grudges or partake in a macabre pastime of observing the suffering of the Afghan people. After two decades of conflict, the international forces under US leadership withdrew ten months ago.
The Afghan people, who have lived through more than 40 years of conflict and destruction, have not received any significant assistance throughout this time.
They require immediate assistance during this tragic moment, and the powers which have imposed sanctions on Afghanistan must lift them or at the very least declare some relaxation so that other nations can direct relief to Afghanistan. Due to these sanctions, Afghanistan’s banking industry is paralysed, and the billions of dollars in economic funding that had been supporting the Afghan economy have dried up.
The moment has come to circumvent those bans and resume humanitarian assistance through international organisations. In order for the injured to receive medical attention, border controls between Afghanistan and its neighbours must be loosened. The UN must take the initiative in these efforts.
More than just sorrow and sympathy from surrounding nations and the international community are needed right now for the Afghan people.
Without regard for the philosophy or methods of the Taliban, the international community must provide Afghanistan with all the help it can.
Regardless of who is in charge of the administration in Afghanistan, the world must demonstrate its solidarity with those in need.
Anywhere in the world, natural disasters can occur, necessitating coordinated efforts to assist the impacted population.
s a result of the Taliban’s refusal to change its methods, it has become one of the world’s most isolated nations and is currently experiencing a serious economic crisis.
