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WHO warns of rising health needs after deadly earthquake in northern Afghanistan

The quake, which hit at 1 a.m. local time, caused extensive damage across Samangan and Balkh provinces, destroying homes, injuring hundreds, and damaging critical health infrastructure.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) says it has mobilized emergency health teams and dispatched life-saving medical supplies to northern Afghanistan following a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck near Mazar-e-Sharif early Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 860 others.

The quake, which hit at 1 a.m. local time, caused extensive damage across Samangan and Balkh provinces, destroying homes, injuring hundreds, and damaging critical health infrastructure.

According to WHO’s first situation report, Samangan recorded 11 deaths and 270 injuries, while Balkh reported 9 deaths and nearly 600 injuries. More than 400 patients were treated in private hospitals for quake-related injuries.

Several health facilities sustained partial damage, including the Balghali Primary Healthcare Clinic in Samangan — supported by WHO — and the Hayatan PHC in Balkh. The Samangan Provincial Hospital laboratory completely collapsed, destroying vital medical equipment and disrupting diagnostic services.

Within hours of the quake, WHO and its partners deployed emergency teams to the hardest-hit areas. Six ambulances from the Balkh Ambulance Department were sent to rescue people trapped under debris and transfer the critically injured to regional hospitals.

To strengthen the response, WHO has supplied four Trauma and Emergency Surgery Kits (TESK) — enough to treat around 200 trauma patients — and one Interagency Emergency Health Kit (IEHK), which can support 10,000 people for up to three months. Additional medical supplies, including pneumonia kits, are being sent from Kabul to Mazar to replenish stockpiles.

“Health teams are working around the clock to provide emergency care, deliver medical supplies, and assess urgent needs,” the WHO said, adding that coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and provincial authorities is ongoing.

A rapid health needs assessment is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, November 4, to determine the full extent of the damage and identify priority gaps in medical support.

The response has been complicated by landslides in the Tange area of Khulm district, which blocked the Balkh–Kabul highway, as well as power outages and limited hospital capacity. Khulm District Hospital, one of the main facilities in the region, is facing severe overcrowding and a shortage of space and resources to handle the influx of injured patients.

WHO said continued international support is urgently required to help hospitals in Balkh, Samangan, and Khulm sustain life-saving operations and ensure access to shelter, clean water, food, and psychosocial support for displaced families.

The organization expressed its “solidarity with the affected families” and reaffirmed its commitment to assist Afghanistan’s health authorities in mounting a rapid and coordinated emergency response.

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Afghanistan says Pakistani military post destroyed near Spin Boldak

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Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense says a Pakistani military post near Spin Boldak was targeted and destroyed after Pakistani forces opened fire toward Afghanistan.

Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said in a post on X that Afghan forces suffered no casualties or damage in the clash.

Khwarazmi also rejected claims made by the Pakistani side about the incident, describing them as “propaganda.”

 

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Mujahid: Pakistan attacking Afghanistan to evade Mecca Pact responsibilities

He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”

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Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on Afghanistan to divert attention from its domestic problems and to evade responsibilities under the “Mecca Pact.”

Speaking at a religious seminary in Kandahar, Mujahid said Pakistan was facing political and economic challenges at home and was using attacks on Afghanistan to shift public attention away from protests and its internal problems.

“Pakistan, by violating the territory of its neighboring Islamic country, wants to divert attention from its failures,” he said.

Mujahid also criticized Pakistan’s political situation, claiming that political space had been restricted and that freedoms guaranteed under the country’s laws were not being allowed.

He said Pakistan’s economic problems had also increased significantly and accused the country of seeking to distract the public from those problems by engaging in conflict with Afghanistan.

Mujahid further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of putting the Pakistani people at risk through what he described as its “false position.”

He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”

His remarks followed Pakistani airstrikes on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Thursday, which Afghan authorities said killed four civilians.

The strikes came three days after attacks on Kunar and Paktika provinces, in which Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed.

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Kabul rejects U.S. claim that meth seized in Pakistan was of Afghan origin

Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.

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Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi has rejected a U.S. claim that 463 kilograms of synthetic drugs seized in Pakistan were of Afghan origin, calling the attribution “unfounded and politically motivated.”

Balkhi said the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad should investigate the origin of the seized drugs in Pakistan rather than attributing them to Afghanistan.

“The attribution by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad of the synthetic drugs bound for Sri Lanka and intercepted in Pakistan through joint U.S.-Pakistani efforts as ‘Afghan-origin’ is an unfounded and politically motivated allegation,” Balkhi said.

He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.

Balkhi also claimed that following the ban in Afghanistan, the cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics have increased “on the other side of the Durand Line.”

He further argued that Afghanistan does not have the capacity to produce synthetic drugs and said crossing points along the Durand Line have been completely closed to all movement for nearly a year.

His remarks came after the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said U.S. and Pakistani anti-narcotics authorities had seized 463 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $21 million and bound for Sri Lanka.

The embassy said the operation led to multiple arrests and highlighted ongoing U.S. cooperation and training with Pakistani authorities to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks.

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