Afghanistan-Pakistan victims desperate for aid

Pakistani earthquake survivors look out from a damaged decorated room of a bridegroom in the Meadan area of Lower Dir district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Thursday. — AFP

Desperate earthquake victims in Pakistan on Thursday appealed for blankets and warm clothes as insecurity and severed communications impeded relief efforts.

Monday’s 7.5 magnitude quake ripped through the region, killing more than 390 people in Pakistan and Afghanistan while levelling thousands of homes and forcing many to camp out in the open amid freezing temperatures.

Pakistan’s confirmed death toll so far stands at 272, with 2,123 people injured and 13,000 homes damaged, and authorities warn that number could spike with many isolated regions still cut off.

Officials said the government was trying to reach out to the areas where the communication system had been badly disrupted.

“Hopefully very soon, we will be able to get in touchy with the people in hilly areas. We understand they need more support from us,” said a senior government official.

Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto on Thursday visited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the first time to inspect destruction.

Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced 600,000 rupees compensation for heirs of each earthquake victim.

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan also paid visits to quake-hit areas

In Afghanistan, authorities have put the toll at 121 people with some 8,000 houses damaged — but there are fears the number of dead could still spike, with charities warning that the Taliban presence was hindering access to many of the affected areas.

UNAMA official Mark Bowden said it appeared NGOs had the capacity to help after the quake, but that access to the areas “varies from one (insurgent) commander after another”.

Desperate survivors were left marooned on mountaintops in Badakhshan, the remote province where the epicentre of the earthquake was located and where much of the territory is controlled by the insurgents.

In Sawkay district in the badly-hit Afghan province of Kunar, residents said Wednesday that no officials had yet appeared.

“The government has not asked what happened to us,” said resident Mohammad Akram. “No government official visited us.”

The quake was centred near Jurm in northeast Afghanistan, 250 kilometres from the capital Kabul and at a depth of 213.5 km, the US Geological Survey said.

He visited Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar to meet quake affectees and monitored rescue activities. Aseefa Bhutto and other prominent political leaders accompanied him. The local administration has directed to beef up the security arrangements on this occasion. Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced Rs 600,000 compensation for heirs of each earthquake victim. The Prime Minister said the federal government will extend full support to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in quake relief activities. Under the package, Rs 600,000 will be given to the family of each deceased and Rs 100,000 to each injured person. Similarly, Rs 200,000 will be given to the one who lost his limb or any other body part in the disaster. The Prime Minister said that Rs 200,000 would also be given for the construction of completely damaged houses while Rs 100,000 each for the partially damaged houses. Further, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan also paid visits to quake-hit areas and Lady Reading Hospital to review emergency situation and meet the injured. Mr Khan has stepped out to monitor the situation after quake claimed at least 185 lives in the province on October 26. The PTI leader said his party’s government in Khyber Palhtunkhwa will utilize all resources possible for rehabilitation of the affectees and quake-hit areas.