Mirziyoyev sends condolences to Taliban leadership after deadly earthquake

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Mirziyoyev urges SCO to engage Taliban in constructive dialogue

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has expressed condolences to the leadership of Afghanistan’s Taliban interim government over the devastating earthquake that struck Kunar and Nangarhar provinces on September 1, killing and injuring hundreds. The statement was reported by presidential press secretary Sherzod Asadov.

The earthquake, measuring 6.0 in magnitude, struck eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border late on August 31. According to official data, 610 people were killed in Kunar province and 12 in neighboring Nangarhar province. The total number of injured has surpassed 1,550, with more than 1,300 from Kunar alone.

Helicopters were dispatched to the disaster zone as landslides blocked roads and hampered rescue operations. Authorities warned that the death toll is expected to rise as many victims remain trapped under debris.

Emergency services have so far carried out 35 evacuation flights from Nangarhar airport to Kunar province, transferring 335 injured people to Nangarhar Regional Hospital. The rest of the injured are being transported for treatment. Local residents described the tremors as some of the strongest in recent Afghan history.

The quake struck at 23:47 local time, followed by a 4.5-magnitude aftershock in Nangarhar province just 20 minutes later. Officials noted that many victims were asleep when their homes collapsed, and communication with residents in several remote areas remains limited, complicating relief efforts.

This tragedy follows a series of recent high-level meetings between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban-led authorities. On June 11, Mirziyoyev met Nuruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s acting minister of industry and trade, during the Tashkent International Investment Forum—the first meeting between the Uzbek leader and a Taliban official. On July 3, he also met Taliban Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar at the ECO summit in Khankendi.