Kabul [Afghanistan], June 26 (ANI): Taliban urged the United States on Saturday to unfreeze Afghanistan’s foreign funds and lift financial sanctions to help the war-torn country deal with its deadliest earthquake in more than two decades. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Saturday, while speaking to reporters in Kabul, said, “In these testing times, we call on the United States to release Afghanistan’s frozen assets and lift sanctions on Afghan banks so that aid agencies could easily deliver assistance to Afghanistan.”
Notably, US President Joe Biden in February signed an executive order to free 7 billion US dollars out of more than 9 billion frozen Afghan assets, splitting the money between humanitarian aid for Afghanistan and a fund for 9/11 victims.
The United Nations said humanitarian organizations, in coordination with Taliban authorities, are continuing to provide aid to families in Paktika and Khost, the two southeastern Afghan provinces hardest hit by Wednesday’s 5.9 magnitude earthquake, reported Voice of America (VOA). “There are, however, unconfirmed reports that between 700 and 800 families are living in the open across three of the six worst-affected districts,” said a UN statement on Saturday. “Families living in non-damaged and partially damaged buildings have also reportedly resorted to living out in the open out of fear that there may be further tremors,” it added.
According to the Taliban officials, the quake killed 1,150 people, injured about 1,600 and destroyed nearly 3,000 homes, with hundreds more partially damaged. As per UN children’s fund UNICEF, at least 121 children were among those killed and the toll is likely to increase.
Afghan authorities have called off the search for survivors, and they were struggling to deliver critically needed aid due to capacity challenges. “We are urgently working to address complicated questions about the use of these funds to ensure they benefit the people of Afghanistan and not the Taliban,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Saturday.
Meanwhile, India delivered the second consignment of relief assistance on Friday to support the people of Afghanistan badly affected by the earthquake that struck this week in the eastern part of the country. The relief batch that reached Kabul is the second one in two days, being given in the wake of a devastating earthquake that claimed more than 1,000 lives. “Second consignment of India’s earthquake relief assistance for the people of Afghanistan reaches Kabul,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet.
The relief assistance consists of essential items including family ridge tents, sleeping bags, blankets, sleeping mats, etc. “In the wake of the tragic earthquake that struck Afghanistan on June 22, 2022 causing massive destruction and loss of precious lives, the Government of India, as a true first responder, has dispatched 27 tons of emergency relief assistance in two flights for the people of Afghanistan,” the MEA said in a statement.
“As always, India stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, with whom we share centuries-old ties, and remains firmly committed to providing immediate relief assistance for the Afghan people,” the statement added.
India on Thursday handed over the first consignment to support the Afghan nationals affected by the earthquake. India also deployed a team to the Embassy in Kabul to coordinate the efforts of stakeholders for the delivery of humanitarian aid. (ANI)
The UK provides 2.5 million euros lifesaving support to Afghans after the devastating earthquake
London [UK], June 26 (ANI): UK is providing 2.5 million euros aid for immediate life-saving support to people in Afghanistan affected by the devastating earthquake this week, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced. “A total of £2 million will go to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) to provide shelter, medication, water, sanitation, and other basic needs. The IFRC already has staff and volunteers working on the ground to respond to the crisis and help address the urgent humanitarian needs – including in Khost and Paktika, the 2 provinces most heavily impacted,” said a UK press release on Friday.
A further 500,000 euros will go to the Norwegian Refugee Council, who are already working on the ground, to provide shelter and cash assistance to those affected, it added. The government said that this support will come from the UK’s aid fund for Afghanistan, which is 286 million euros this financial year, one of the largest bilateral programmes.
Last year, the UK’s funding supported emergency health services, water, protection, shelter, food, and education through the UN Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund and World Food Programme.
International partners, including the United Nations and World Food Programme, are coordinating the global response and rapidly assessing the humanitarian needs. The UK is in direct contact with them to offer assistance and stands ready to consider any requests for aid or other help. UK aid was already delivered to the affected areas prior to the earthquake via the UN, NGOs and Red Cross. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said, “The recent earthquake is a tragedy for the people of Afghanistan. The scale of need was already severe before the earthquake struck, with more than half of the population requiring humanitarian assistance.”
“UK support will enable lifesaving supplies to be provided on the ground. Our aid budget for Afghanistan is one of the UK’s largest bilateral programmes and we will continue to work urgently with our international partners to respond to the unfolding humanitarian crisis,” she added.
The UK co-hosted a high-level international pledging summit with the UN in March 2022, to provide more vital funds. This helped the response to the UN’s appeal of nearly USD 4.5 billion for Afghanistan, their largest appeal on record for a single country, reflecting the magnitude of the humanitarian challenge that was already facing the country before the earthquake.
UK funding is channelled through UN partners and NGOs. No funding goes to or through the Taliban, the government clarified in the press release. (ANI)
