In the aftermath of the devastating 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan’s Paktika province that killed at least 1,000 people, Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has come up with an emotional appeal for donations nominating current and former cricketers.
“Afghanistan will be #BackEvenStronger – Donate now at: http://backevenstronger.com. I nominate: @safridiofficial , @hardikpandya7 and @djbravo47 to donate & nominate. Please retweet and share,” Rashid Khan tweeted while sharing the video message.
The country’s Taliban-led government has also appealed for international aid, the media reported on Thursday.
The earthquake on Wednesday, deemed to be the deadliest to strike the country in two decades, and subsequent landslides also injured 1,500 people in the two districts of Gayan and Barmal.
The epicentre was 44 km from Khost city and tremors were felt as far away as Pakistan and India.
In a statement, senior Taliban official Abdul Qahar Balkhi said the regime was “financially unable to assist the people to the extent that is needed” as Afghanistan is in the midst of an ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis, the BBC reported.
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Despite help from “aid agencies, neighbouring countries and world powers”, he said that “the assistance needs to be scaled up to a very large extent because this is a devastating earthquake which hasn’t been experienced in decades”.
Meanwhile, Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada claimed that hundreds of homes were destroyed and that the death toll was likely to increase as rescue teams and emergency workers are still looking for people buried in the debris, Khaama Press reported.
The government has announced that it will pay 100,000 Afs for the families of victims and 50,000 to those injured.