Politics
Afghan quake survivors left waiting for aid
Rescue teams struggled to reach survivors days after a powerful earthquake in eastern Afghanistan left more than 1,400 people dead, as access to remote areas remained obstructed.
A magnitude-6.0 shallow earthquake hit the mountainous region bordering Pakistan late Sunday, collapsing mud-brick homes on families as they slept.
Fearful of the near-constant aftershocks, people huddled in the open or struggled to unearth those trapped under the heaps of flattened buildings.
The earthquake killed at least 1,469 people and injured more than 3,700, according to the latest toll from Taliban authorities, making it one of the deadliest in decades to hit the impoverished country.
UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said on X that the quake had “affected more than 500,000 people” in eastern Afghanistan.
The vast majority of the casualties were in Kunar province, with a dozen dead and hundreds hurt in nearby Nangarhar and Laghman provinces.
Access remained difficult, as aftershocks caused rockfall, stymying access to already isolated villages and keeping families outdoors for fear of the remains of damaged homes collapsing on them.
‘Everyone is afraid’
“Everyone is afraid and there are many aftershocks,” Awrangzeeb Noori, 35, told AFP from the village of Dara-i-Nur in Nangarhar province. “We spend all day and night in the field without shelter.”
The non-governmental group Save the Children said one of its aid teams “had to walk for 20 kilometres (12 miles) to reach villages cut off by rock falls, carrying medical equipment on their backs with the help of community members”.
The World Health Organisation said Wednesday it was scaling up its emergency response to address the “immense” needs and that it required more resources in order to “prevent further losses”.
WHO has appealed for $4 million to deliver lifesaving health interventions and expand mobile health services and supply distribution.
“Every hour counts,” WHO emergency team lead in Afghanistan Jamshed Tanoli said in a statement. “Hospitals are struggling, families are grieving and survivors have lost everything.”
The Taliban government’s deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat told AFP that areas which had taken days to reach had been finally accessed.
“We cannot determine the date for finishing the operation in all areas as the area is very mountainous and it is very difficult to reach every area.”
ActionAid noted that women and girls were particularly vulnerable in emergencies as they face steep restrictions under the Taliban authorities.
Residents of Jalalabad, the nearest city to the epicentre, donated money and goods including blankets.
“I am a simple labourer and I came here to help the earthquake victims because I felt very sad for them,” said resident Mohammad Rahman.
Deepening crisis
Around 85% of the Afghan population lives on less than one dollar per day, according to the United Nations.
After decades of conflict, Afghanistan faces endemic poverty, severe drought and the influx of millions of Afghans sent back to the country by neighbouring countries in the years since the Taliban takeover.
The Norwegian Refugee Council cautioned that “forcing Afghans to return will only deepen the crisis”.
It is the third major earthquake since the Taliban authorities took power in 2021, but there are even fewer resources for the cash-strapped government’s response after the United States slashed assistance to the country when President Donald Trump took office in January.
Even before the earthquake, the United Nations estimated it had obtained less than a third of the funding required for operations countrywide.
In two days, the Taliban government’s defence ministry said it organised 155 helicopter flights to evacuate around 2,000 injured and their relatives to regional hospitals.
Fitrat said a camp had been set up in Khas Kunar district to coordinate emergency aid, while two other sites were opened near the epicentre “to oversee the transfer of the injured, the burial of the dead, and the rescue of survivors”.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, with the country still recovering from previous disasters.
Western Herat province was devastated in October 2023 by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which killed more than 1,500 people and damaged or destroyed more than 63,000 homes.
- Move follows Taliban FM Muttaqi’s recent visit to New Delhi.
- Jaishankar earlier announced to restore full diplomatic status.
- New Delhi aims to expand bilateral engagement, cooperation.
India has “reopened” its embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul after four years, as diplomatic relations between both countries saw a significant expansion following Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s recent visit to New Delhi.
This development came after Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar announced earlier this month that New Delhi would reopen its embassy in Kabul.
India had closed its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban seized power following the withdrawal of US-led Nato forces in 2021, but opened a small mission a year later to facilitate trade, medical support, and humanitarian aid.
In a statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said: “In keeping with the decision announced during the recent visit of the Afghan Foreign Minister to India, the government is restoring the status of the Technical Mission of India in Kabul to that of Embassy of India in Afghanistan with immediate effect.”
“This decision underscores India’s resolve to deepen its bilateral engagement with the Afghan side in all spheres of mutual interest.”
“The Embassy of India in Kabul will further augment India’s contribution to Afghanistan’s comprehensive development, humanitarian assistance, and capacity-building initiatives, in keeping with the priorities and aspirations of Afghan society,” it concluded.
About a dozen countries, including Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran, and Turkiye, have embassies operating in Kabul, although Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban regime.
Muttaqi had paid a six-day visit to India to boost ties with New Delhi earlier this month.
Analysts said the trip highlights the Taliban regime’s efforts to expand engagement with regional powers in a quest for economic relations and eventual diplomatic recognition.
India and Afghanistan have historically had friendly ties, but New Delhi does not recognise the Taliban regime.
According to the Western diplomats, the Taliban administration’s path to recognition is being stalled by its curbs on women.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will meet US President Donald Trump during a three-day visit to Washington next month, a source close to the government told AFP on Tuesday.
Crown Prince Salman will arrive on November 17 and discuss political, economic and security files with Trump the following day, the source said on condition of anonymity.
The crown prince’s trip was revealed days into a fragile Gaza ceasefire brokered by Trump that was warmly welcomed by Saudi Arabia.
Some media reports suggest Saudi Arabia is hoping for a US security agreement after Trump’s executive order this month pledging to defend its neighbour Qatar from attacks.
The visit by the crown prince, often known by his initials MBS, follows Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia in May during the first foreign tour of his second term.
Trump was treated to a lavish welcome by the Saudis, who promised $600 billion in deals ranging from defence to artificial intelligence.
Saudi Arabia and the US have enjoyed a close relationship for decades based on privileged access to Saudi oil reserves in exchange for military protection.
The Kingdom has spearheaded moves championing statehood for the Palestinians, including organising a UN conference along with France in July.
Last month, the two countries’ “New York Declaration” supporting a Hamas-free Palestinian state was backed in a vote by the United Nations General Assembly.
VIENNA: Austria deported an Afghan national back to his home country on Tuesday for the first time since the Taliban seized power there four years ago, and the conservative-led coalition government in Vienna said that more would follow soon.
The government has made fighting illegal immigration a top priority, apparently seeking to erode support for the far-right Freedom Party, or FPO, by focusing on one of its core issues.
The three-party ruling coalition of centrist parties took office in March after the FPO won a parliamentary election but failed to form a governing alliance. The FPO has maintained its lead in opinion polls.
“This morning, a man convicted of serious crimes was deported to Kabul — the first deportation to Afghanistan since 2021,” Chancellor Christian Stocker of the conservative Austrian People’s Party wrote on X.
“Austria is thus sending a clear message: zero tolerance for anyone who has forfeited their right to remain by committing criminal offences,” he added.
In July, Austria became the first European Union country to deport a Syrian back to their home country since the civil war there broke out, despite objections by human rights groups that it was too soon to know if it was safe to do so.
Austria has been saying for months that it hopes to resume deportations to Afghanistan despite similar objections.
Amnesty International said in a statement that Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
“Anyone who deports people to a state that commits crimes against its own people is deliberately denying protection and breaking the law,” it said, adding: “This betrayal of human rights must be stopped immediately!”
Syria and Afghanistan are the top countries of origin of asylum-seekers in Austria. The government has said that initially those deported will primarily be criminal offenders.
“The Interior Ministry under Gerhard Karner is preparing further deportations,” Stocker said.
The deportation comes just a day after the European Union said that it has “initiated exploratory contacts” with the Taliban regime to boost deportations of failed asylum seekers.
A majority of EU nations had urged Brussels to reach out to Kabul to boost expulsions.
In a letter initiated by Belgium, 20 EU member states urged the European Commission to take action to enable both voluntary and forced returns of Afghans with no right to stay.
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