Another quake strikes Afghanistan two days after Sunday’s tremors, rescue worker struggles

Rescue operations in Afghanistan’s quake-hit eastern provinces have been dealt another blow, with a fresh 5.2-magnitude earthquake striking the region just two days after a major 6.0 tremor on Sunday.

United Nations officials on the ground warned that the series of quakes, coupled with connectivity issues and blocked roads, has severely hampered humanitarian efforts. Landslides and rockfalls triggered by the repeated tremors have made access to remote areas extremely difficult.

Fearing that hundreds of thousands may be affected, aid agencies are racing against time. The Taliban regime, already reeling under sanctions and aid cuts, has appealed for international assistance. While around 40 countries are in talks with Kabul, Russia remains the only nation to have formally recognized the regime.

Meanwhile, the Hindu and Sikh communities of Afghanistan, along with their diaspora and the World Hindu Association, have mobilized resources to send relief material. “We have coordinated humanitarian aid for the victims,” said Manjit Singh Lambe, president of the Council of Hindu and Sikh Minorities of Afghanistan.

The devastation has also struck cities such as Jalalabad, home to the historic Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar. Once numbering in the hundreds of thousands, Afghanistan’s Sikh and Hindu communities have dwindled to just about 150 members by 2021, according to the European Union Agency for Asylum.

India has already dispatched humanitarian relief, including 1,000 tents and 15 tons of food supplies, and assured continued support with medicines and food aid.

(This story was taken from syndicated feed and was only edited for style by Gujarat Samachar Digital team)