Pakistan dispatches 2nd aid consignment for Afghanistan's earthquake victims

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan dispatched a second consignment of relief goods for Afghanistan's earthquake victims, it Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

The 105 tons (115 US tons) of humanitarian relief assistance includes essential food items, medicines, tents, blankets and bubble mats.

The government of northwestern Khyber Phaktunkhwa province sent an aid consignment on Tuesday.

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Kunar and three neighboring provinces, killing more than 1,400 people and injuring over 3,000, in addition to destroying thousands of houses.

The consignment was sent following a phone conversation between Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Afghan counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi.

"We extend our deepest condolences and prayers for the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured," Dar wrote on the US social media company X.

Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan at this difficult time, he added.

Chinese charge d'affaires in Kabul, Bao Xuhui, handed relief donations Tuesday at its embassy to the National Disaster Management Authority, Beijing-based Xinhua News reported.

The EU has approved €1 million in humanitarian emergency funding to address the most urgent needs of the affected population, it said Tuesday.

The money will go to humanitarian partners that are already carrying out relief operations on the ground.

In addition, the EU will donate around 130 tonnes of relief supplies, including tents and other shelter items, clothes, medical supplies and material, from its humanitarian stocks.

The supplies will be delivered via two EU-funded humanitarian flights that are scheduled to arrive in Kabul later this week.

And the bloc has activated the Copernicus satellite service to produce emergency maps, which will help in the delivery of the aid.

The new assistance is in addition to the €161 already allocated in 2025 for humanitarian organizations in Afghanistan.

The United Arab Emirates has also dispatched relief goods, an Afghan Information Ministry official told Anadolu.

*Writing by Aamir Latif