More relief goods for Afghanistan Earthquake Effectees have reached Afghanistan from Pakistan. … BY;ASGHAR ALI MUBARAK…….Islamabad…. More relief goods for Afghanistan Earthquake Effectees have reached Afghanistan from Pakistan. On Saturday the Pakistani ambassador handed over relief supplies to the Afghan Taliban.Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador in the Afghan capital of Kabul, said relief goods dispatched by Pakistan on Saturday were handed over to Taliban officials.“It was our duty to help our Afghan brethren at this difficult time,” he said. Mean while an other Pakistani military cargo plane carrying relief goods for Afghanistan’s earthquake-affected people landed at the Khost airport , officials said, as tents, food and medical supplies rolled into the mountainous region. More over Pakistan continues to provide all out humanitarian assistance to people of Afghanistan. To facilitate the affected people of Afghanistan, today Pakistan opened another crossing at Alawara Mandi, North Waziristan District. Ration distribution point, lunch arrangements and medical camp has been established at Alwara Mandi opposite Afghan Dubai, Paktika. Locals of Madda Khel tribe from Afghan Dubai/ Passa Mela are being facilitated as guests on Pakistani side of the border. This Temporary Crossing point has been opened in North Waziristan District other than Ghulam Khan Terminal that remains opened for provision of all sorts of assistance to people of Afghanistan. Thousands were left homeless or injured by this week’s powerful earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, which state media said killed 1,150 people. An aftershock Friday took five more lives. Among the dead from Wednesday’s magnitude 6 quake are 121 children and that figure is expected to climb, said the U.N. children’s agency representative in Afghanistan. He said close to 70 children were injured. Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador in the Afghan capital of Kabul, said relief goods dispatched by Pakistan on Saturday were handed over to Taliban officials. Earlier, Pakistan’s government and a Pakistani charity had sent 13 trucks carrying food, tents, life-saving medicines and other essential items to Afghanistan. A 19-member team from Pakistan comprised of physicians and paramedics has been helping Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government in Khost, providing medical treatment for those injured in Wednesday’s earthquake. Officials said Pakistan has opened its border in the northwest to transport critically injured Afghans to hospitals in Pakistan. But it was unclear how many Afghans have arrived in Pakistan’s northwest from the quake-affected areas for medical treatment. The quake struck a remote, deeply impoverished region of small towns and villages tucked among rough mountains near the Pakistani border, collapsing stone and mud-brick homes and in some cases killing entire families. Nearly 3,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged in Paktika and Khost provinces, state media reported. Overstretched aid agencies said the disaster underscored the need for the international community to rethink its financial cut-off of Afghanistan since Taliban insurgents seized the country 10 months ago. That policy, halting billions in development aid and freezing vital reserves, has helped push the economy into collapse and plunge Afghanistan deeper into humanitarian crises and near famine. The effort to help the victims has been slowed both by geography and by Afghanistan’s decimated condition. Rutted roads through the mountains, already slow to drive on, were made worse by quake damage and rain. The International Red Cross has five hospitals in the region, but damage to the roads made it difficult for those in the worse-hit areas to reach them, said Lucien Christen, ICRC spokesman in Afghanistan. Also on Saturday, an Afghan military chopper transported food and other necessities to people in Gayan district in Paktika province. Dozens of men and children gathered in an open area under the hot sun to wait for food, water and tents from the Afghan Red Crescent. The aid organization said it would distribute relief items to around 1,000 families in the district, including food, tents and clothes.
