Latest News
Paktika earthquake victims claim aid distribution process is unfair
Some of the victims of the recent earthquake in Paktika have said the aid distribution process is unfair and that only a limited amount of aid has reached the intended victims.
Some residents of Gayan district, whose houses were destroyed in the deadly earthquake last month, have called on the government to be transparent in the process.
“With this aid nothing can be done, because I want to rebuild one room which costs 100,000 Afghani but so far even 5,000 Afghanis have not been donated to us, you can’t build a room with 5,000 Afghani,” said Mohammad Hassain, a resident of Gayan district.
Another resident said that cash aid was only being given to victims with contacts.
“No one heard our voice, we visited many times, even today, cash aid came and they were registering it, but it was given only to those who had links, but while our houses were destroyed, no one gave us money,” said Omar Khan, another resident of the district.
A number of other residents of Gayan district say that the people of this district have suffered huge financial losses in addition to the human casualties and that help to rebuild houses is what is needed.
“Gayan district has a very narrow area, but the people who live here are many, and the government should distribute land to the people in Paktika or other provinces, and the high casualties are due to the large number of people in the small area,” said Zafar Khan, a resident of Gayan district.
“Currently, if people are not helped to rebuild their houses, our people do not have the economic capacity to rebuild their houses,” said Daoud Khan Haqmal, another resident of Gayan district.
Officials distributing aid in the area meanwhile acknowledge that there have been some problems but say in order to be transparent they are working with Imams from local mosques and tribal elders to distribute the aid.
“The process is transparent as much as possible, but there are some problems, for example, one or two houses in an area were destroyed and we could not handle it properly, but all the aid is distributed according to the arranged list, and nothing is given to anyone by links, it is given only to those which are listed through Mullah Imam or tribal elders,” said Sayed Hassan, who is responsible for distributing aid to the victims in Gayan district.
Government has said however that it is trying to provide basic assistance to the victims who need to rebuild their houses.
On June 21 a 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit the Spera district in Khost province in eastern Afghanistan. Over 1,000 people were killed and at least 3,000 more were injured while thousands of houses were destroyed across Paktika and Khost provinces.
The most affected districts were Gayan, Barmal, and Ziruk districts in Paktika province and Spera in Khost.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and private telecommunication companies on Sunday signed contracts worth 365 million afghanis to provide telecommunication services in remote areas.
The contract was signed in the presence of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, Economic Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mawolvi Najibullah Haqqani.
Speaking at the meeting Baradar said the Islamic Emirate considers the service necessary for the nation and tries its best to provide reliable and high quality telecommunications services to the people.
“Islamic Emirate has provided a good basis for investment in Afghanistan and appreciates the efforts of all those national businessmen and investors who invest for the economic growth of the country,” Baradar said.
The contracts signed were with Afghan Wireless Communications Company (AWCC) and MTN.
The two companies will establish 33 new sites in Kandahar, Nuristan, Badakhshan, Uruzgan, Zabul, Kunar, Nangarhar and Kabul provinces. These will be in remote areas where people do not have access to telecommunication services.
After reports of corruption and the move by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to take control of Afghanistan’s embassy in New Delhi, the Indian government has said the issue is an internal matter which does not involve them.
Representatives of Afghan refugees living in India have accused officials at the Afghanistan embassy in Delhi, including the ambassador, of corruption. The embassy denies the allegations.
Indian media have also reported that the embassy resisted IEA’s move to formally take control of the embassy.
Arindam Bagchi, India’s foreign ministry spokesman, said in a press conference that the issue is an internal matter of the embassy.
“From our perspective, this is an internal matter of the Afghan Embassy, and we hope that they would resolve it internally,” Bagchi said.
The United Arab Emirates’ Permanent Representative to the UN Lana Nusseibeh said the UN Security Council will hold a meeting on Afghanistan later this month.
Nusseibeh, who is currently President of the Security Council, said: “We will hold a comprehensive meeting on Afghanistan’s situation on June 21.
“Our focus will be concentrated on Afghanistan’s situation, women’s rights in particular, over which all the members of the Security Council have agreed,” she added.
On Thursday, Nusseibeh told media in New York that the UN Security Council will continue working on the issues of Afghanistan, especially on women’s rights.
According to the UAE ambassador, Fraidoon Oglu, the UN Special Coordinator for Afghanistan Affairs will provide a comprehensive report about the situation in the country to the Security Council in November.
This comes after Fox News reported on Friday that several US Senators have proposed a bill to tighten sanctions against IEA officials in response to human rights violations in Afghanistan.
Tahawol: IEA hold political commission meeting
Saar: Problems among employees of Afghan embassy in India discussed
IEA signs deals worth 365m AFN for cell phone services in remote areas
Experts warn bird flu virus changing rapidly in largest ever outbreak
Gmail is adding more AI to help you find important emails faster
Britain’s King Charles III crowned in coronation ceremony
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan arrested outside Islamabad court
Arab League reinstates Syria after 12-year suspension
Turkey votes in pivotal elections that could end Erdogan’s 20-year rule
Imran Khan appears in court as Pakistan braces for violence
Tahawol: IEA hold political commission meeting
Saar: Problems among employees of Afghan embassy in India discussed
Tahawol: Holding EU-Central Asia summit discussed
Saar: TTP launching attacks using Afghan soil discussed
Tahawol: IEA FM’s visit with UN’s special envoy discussed
-
World3 days agoDrones attack Russian oil refineries near major oil port Novorossiisk
-
Latest News2 days ago30 Afghan students off to Kazakhstan to continue their studies
-
Regional4 days agoPakistan’s PM meets with Belarus foreign minister, discusses ongoing cooperation
-
Latest News5 days agoIran: Enemies exaggerating border skirmish issue
-
Business3 days agoAgriculture minister says sector will only grow if its mechanized
-
Health2 days agoFourth poliovirus case reported in Nangarhar
-
Latest News5 days agoQari Yusuf Ahmadi appointed head of Government Media and Information Center
-
Kandahar4 days agoUnofficial border gate opens to ease congestion at Spin Boldak crossing