84,000 People Affected By Afghanistan Earthquake, Says Red Cross

The quake killed more than 2,000 people and destroyed thousands of homes in border provinces. Many of the hardest-hit villages were home to families recently returned from Pakistan.

The UN Refugee Agency said continued deportations would further weaken Afghans’ ability to respond to the crisis. It urged Pakistan to pause removals out of humanitarian concern.

According to official figures, more than 1.2 million Afghans have been deported from Pakistan since 2023. So far this year alone, more than 443,000 have been forced to return.

The agency warned that without immediate financial support, its ability to deliver critical health services and emergency aid will be severely limited.

The WHO said the requested funds would be used to provide essential medical care, expand mobile health teams and support water, sanitation and hygiene services in quake-hit areas.

The Taliban said the death toll from the earthquake has risen to 2,205.

Deputy Taliban spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said rescue teams have recovered hundreds of bodies from the rubble in the districts of Chawkay, Dewagal Dara, Chapa Dara and Manogai. Search and rescue efforts remain under way, he said, adding that tents have been set up for survivors and the delivery of emergency aid is continuing “in an organised manner.”

On Wednesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the death toll had reached 1,457, with 3,394 injured, three days after the quake struck. He also said 6,782 homes were destroyed.

Mujahid said rescue operations were ongoing in Kunar to recover victims’ bodies and that the wounded were being airlifted to hospitals by helicopter.

Courts in both countries have ruled that authorities must act on the cases. In Germany, legal challenges and public criticism led to approval for 47 Afghans, including activists, artists and former judges, to enter the country.

The decision followed reports that more than 210 Afghans holding German admission papers were recently detained by Pakistani police and deported to Afghanistan. Many of the families had been waiting in Islamabad for months or even years for relocation.

A German Foreign Ministry spokesman said Berlin is pressing for their return to Pakistan and is holding talks with Islamabad to ease the process.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his government would uphold the commitments made by its predecessor but stressed that all Afghan refugees must undergo security checks before entry. Human rights groups have accused the government of “deliberate neglect” and have filed complaints against some ministers.

In the Netherlands, a court in The Hague ordered the government to accept 42 former guards of its embassy in Kabul and their families. The court said Dutch authorities had failed in their duty to these individuals and violated the law.

Thousands of Afghans who fled the Taliban to Pakistan are still waiting to be relocated to safe countries. Reports estimate more than 2,000 Afghans, including former employees of German institutions and others at risk, remain in Pakistan awaiting transfer to Germany.

The quake hit at about 9:40 a.m. local time, with its epicentre recorded east of Jalalabad at a depth of 13 kilometres, according to USGS data.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Local sources in Kunar also confirmed the tremor.

The quake follows a magnitude 6 earthquake that struck the region five days earlier, which has since been followed by several aftershocks.