ISLAMABAD

Consignments of relief goods from neighboring Pakistan, Iran, and Türkiye have begun to pour in as the cash-strapped Afghan government is struggling to cope with the devastation caused by Saturday's massive earthquake amid a faltering economy and deepening humanitarian crisis.

Analysts foresee a tough task ahead for the Afghan government in terms of rebuilding and rehabilitation of the victims due to a fragile economy and a "disappointing" global response.

“This is a huge catastrophe. The Afghan government is doing its best but is not at all in a position to handle such a huge catastrophe alone, considering the country's economic situation,” Hamid Mayar, a Kabul-based analyst, told Anadolu.

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake jolted the Zinda Jan and Ghorian districts of northwestern Herat province, home to 1.9 million people, on Saturday, killing more than 2,500 people so far, and injuring nearly 10,000.

According to the Afghan Red Crescent, over a dozen villages in the two impoverished districts have been "completely destroyed, displacing thousands of panic-stricken citizens.”

“The victims were already very poor, and this calamity has made things more than worse for them,” Mayar said, adding that rebuilding infrastructure and rehabilitation of victims will be a "huge challenge" for the Afghan government.

Since the Taliban returned to power over two years ago, Afghanistan has been facing grave economic challenges.

Currently, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a record 28.3 million people depend on humanitarian and protection assistance in the country, up from 24.4 million in 2022 and 18.4 million in 2021.

It comes amid a blockade of around $7 billion Afghan foreign reserves by the US since the Taliban returned to power two years ago.

Lack of resources

Saturday's earthquake was the latest in a series of tremors that have struck the war-torn country in recent years.

Rescue workers on Monday scrambled to find more bodies and injured in the earthquake-hit northwestern Afghanistan with authorities fearing a further spike in the death toll.

Footages aired on multiple local and international broadcasters show ill-equipped rescue workers along with local men shoveling the debris in a desperate attempt to save the trapped people.

In one of the footage, only one excavator was seen clearing the rubble at a vast earthquake site in the Ghorian district, while several small groups of men were seen shoveling the wreckage.

Afghanistan is frequently struck by tremors, mainly in the Hindukush mountain range, which sits near the confluence of Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake in June last year killed some 1,200 people and left tens of thousands homeless in the Paktika province.

'Global response disappointing'

International humanitarian organizations say that the country hit by a string of conflicts and wars since 1979 is facing the world's largest humanitarian crisis, citing insufficient funding as the biggest obstacle to sustaining and expanding the humanitarian response.

According to the International Rescue Committee, Afghanistan has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world, affecting nearly 3.2 million children and 840,000 pregnant and lactating mothers.

Like many Afghans, Mayar too appears to be disappointed by the global response to the calamity, which according to him has killed over 3,000 people.

“Response from the international community is very disappointing so far. Only a small assistance from Pakistan and Iran has arrived so far, which is more than insufficient to cope with the magnitude of the crisis,” he went on to say.

Calling for the release of the seized $7 billion by Washington, he said: “We need it (humanitarian assistance) right away. Not later.”

Maria Sultan, an Islamabad-based security analyst, said the Afghan Taliban are "administratively strong enough" to handle the situation but there is an urgent need for global humanitarian assistance.

“There is no issue as far as their (Taliban) administrative capabilities are concerned. They are very much on the ground. But there is a dire need for food, shelter, blankets, and other relief goods as winter is fast approaching,” she told Anadolu.

“The situation may go out of hand if proper shelter is not provided to the victims before winter,” she maintained.

The Afghan Red Crescent has called for urgent humanitarian assistance from the international community, fearing a further rise in the death toll.

The Red Cross Society of China said it would provide the Afghan Red Crescent with $200,000 in cash as emergency humanitarian assistance to aid its rescue and disaster relief efforts in the earthquake-hit areas.