Afghanistan Earthquake: India Rushed Emergency Aid Amid Humanitarian Crisis

Afghanistan has been shaken once again, this time not by war or insurgency, but by nature’s fury. A powerful earthquake struck the rugged eastern provinces, killing nearly 800 people and injuring more than 2,800.

Villages in Kunar and surrounding areas were flattened, mud-brick houses collapsed in seconds, and families already living on the edge of survival found themselves homeless overnight.

For a nation already battling political instability, poverty, and isolation, the devastation is nothing short of a humanitarian catastrophe. India has acted swiftly and compassionately.

Within hours of the quake, New Delhi dispatched emergency relief: 1,000 family tents to Kabul and 15 tonnes of food supplies that were rushed onwards to Kunar by the Indian Mission.

More consignments of food grains, medicines, and medical support are on their way. For the victims of this tragedy, every packet of food and every tent is a lifeline.

What makes India’s response significant is the context. Relations with the Taliban regime in Kabul remain uneasy, shaped by mistrust and ideological divergence. Yet, despite the lack of formal recognition of the government there, India has maintained a channel of communication and cooperation.

In fact, during the recent four-day skirmishes with Pakistan, Kabul was among the few capitals that offered New Delhi unambiguous diplomatic support. The Taliban’s condemnation of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam also reflected a rare warmth in ties.

Earthquakes are tragically familiar to Afghanistan. Its rugged mountains sit on fault lines that make it one of the most seismically active regions in Asia. Scientific advances have not yet given us the ability to predict such tremors with precision, and for ordinary Afghans the uncertainty is part of their daily struggle. Repeatedly, they have had to rebuild homes, lives, and communities from rubble.

But unlike earthquakes, the man-made disasters that have plagued Afghanistan for decades have left even deeper scars. First the Soviets, then the Americans, failed in their attempts to remake the nation through military occupation.

In the process, Afghans paid the heaviest price — in lives lost, institutions destroyed, and opportunities denied. Today, the country has little to fall back on. Western nations are hesitant to engage with Kabul, and even Islamic countries keep their distance, fearing a Taliban-style resurgence at home.

This makes the earthquake not just a natural calamity but a profound humanitarian crisis. The United Nations has pledged to mobilise resources, but it cannot act alone. The international community must rise above ideological reservations and extend help to the Afghan people.

Earthquake of 5.3 Magnitude Strikes Afghanistan, Second in 48 Hours

This is not the time to debate the Taliban’s worldview. It is the time to wipe the tears of the bereaved, rebuild broken homes, and restore hope. India has shown the way. Others must follow.