The Taliban, stripped of international aid and alliances, is struggling to respond to Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquake in two decades.
The 5.9-magnitude earthquake …
The Taliban, stripped of international aid and alliances, is struggling to respond to Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquake in two decades. The 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck early Wednesday, about 28 miles southwest of the city of Khost. People felt the tremors in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, and Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, the BBC reported. But the worst damage occurred in Afghanistan’s mountainous Paktika Province, where up to 1,800 homes were destroyed, according to the United Nations. All in all, the state-run news agency estimated that more than 1,000 people had died and thousands more were injured. Since it assumed power about 10 months ago, the Taliban government has not faced a disaster of this scale. The Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, made a rare public appearance to plead for international organizations “to help the Afghan people affected by this great tragedy and to spare no effort”, The Associated Press reported.
