Hours after Sunday’s deadly earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, a Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Reuters that no government had yet expressed readiness to send rescue teams.
The United Arab Emirates was the only country that by Monday evening dispatched a search and rescue team along with relief aid to eastern Afghanistan.
While people in Kunar struggle with shovels and hand tools to rescue their relatives from rubble, other countries have limited themselves to sending condolence messages and minimal aid.
Russia announced it is reviewing the Taliban’s request for help but has taken no practical action yet.
Lack of diplomatic relations, Taliban’s anti-human rights policies, and the ban on women working in international organizations are the main obstacles to deploying international rescue teams.
The UN has allocated five million dollars for relief efforts, but this amount is minimal compared to the needs.
Cloudflare