Afghanistan | Pakistan

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Tuesday said that tremors were felt in Peshawar, Mansehra and Islamabad after another earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan. A press release from the PMD said the 5.4-magnitude earthquake occurred at 5:30pm in southeastern Afghanistan at a depth of 22 kilometres with tremors felt all the way in Peshawar, Mansehra, Islamabad, Abbottabad and Swat. Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey reported it as a 5.2-magnitude earthquake 34 kilometres northeast of Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province. The epicentre of the tremor was close to where a magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit late Sunday night, devastating remote areas in mountainous provinces near the border with Pakistan. The “quake was felt in the same areas which were affected in Kunar [province] in the first earthquake”, Ehsanullah Ehsan, the disaster management spokesman in the hard-hit province, told AFP. “These aftershocks are constant, but they have not caused any casualties yet.” The number of victims from Sunday’s ...

The death toll from Afghanistan’s worst earthquake in years jumped to over 1,400 on Tuesday with thousands more injured, authorities said, as difficult terrain hindered rescue efforts in isolated villages of the country’s mountainous eastern region. At least 1,411 people have died, 3,124 have been injured and over 5,400 houses have been destroyed, Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said. More people are feared trapped under rubble, said the Afghan Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian group working in the region. The United Nations coordinator in Afghanistan said the toll was likely to rise. A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan later today, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The epicentre of the quake was 34 kilometres northeast of Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province, according to the USGS. Afghanistan is prone to deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. The earthquake, with a magnitud...

A massive rescue operation was under way in Afghanistan on Monday, after a strong earthquake and multiple aftershocks flattened homes in a remote, mountainous region, killing more than 800 people, the Taliban authorities said. The quake, which struck at a relatively shallow depth of eight kilometres, was 27 kilometres from the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Nangarhar and Kunar provinces border Pakistan, with the Torkham crossing, the site of many waves of Afghan returnees deported or forced to leave, often with no work and nowhere to go. The earthquake struck just before midnight, shaking buildings from capital Kabul to Islamabad. After the initial quake, a series of at least five aftershocks followed throughout the night, with the strongest being one of magnitude 5.2 just after 4am (2330 GMT on Sunday). More than 1.2 million people likely felt strong or very strong shaking, according to the USGS. Casualties and destruction swept across at least five pro...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a phone call with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, expressing deep sorrow over the tragic earthquake in Afghanistan that has claimed hundreds of lives.

A powerful earthquake jolted eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan late on Sunday, killing at least 800 people and injuring 2,500 others, with authorities fearing a rise in the death toll. Surrounded by mountains, Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes as it sits near the junction of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, a highly active seismic zone. Many of the recent quakes have had shallow depths, which increased the intensity of shaking on the surface and destruction. Here is a timeline of major earthquakes that struck the country since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and before. August 31, 2025: A 6.0 magnitude earthquake shook eastern Kunar province, killing more than 800 people and injuring more than 2,000 others, and flattening hundreds of houses and buildings. Afghans dig graves for the victims’ bodies from the earthquakes in Sarbuland village, Zendeh Jan district of Herat province on Oct 8, 2023. — AFP October 7, 2023: A 6.3 magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks in Herat province kil...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday condoled the losses of life and property after a strong earthquake jolted the eastern provinces of Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan.

At least 622 people were killed and more than 1,500 injured after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday night, Afghan authorities confirmed on Monday.

Tremors from a 6.0 magnitude earthquake were felt across several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab in the early hours of Monday, according to the authorities but no casualties or damage were reported. According to the state-run PTV which cited the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the earthquake was recorded at 12:18am. It added that the tremors were felt in Peshawar, Manshera, Abbottabad, Hangu, Malakand, Swat, Chitral, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad. A Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesperson said the quake was recorded at a depth of 10 kilometres with its epicentre located southwest of Asadabad, Afghanistan. Shocks were also felt in India and Tajikistan. Following the tremors, district administrations across Punjab began inspections of buildings to assess structural safety. “However, no casualties or damage have been reported so far,” PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia confirmed. The PDMA stated that its provincial control room and all district emergency operation cente...

SHARJAH: Skipper Salman Agha hit an unbeaten half-century and fast bowler Haris Rauf grabbed four wickets as Pakistan upstaged Afghanistan by 39 runs in the Twenty20 International tri-series opener in Sharjah on Friday. Right-handed Salman hit a 36-ball 53 not out with three sixes and as many boundaries which lifted Pakistan to a solid 182-7 in their 20 overs. Haris took 4-31 while fellow pacer Shaheen Afridi claimed 2-21, while spinners Mohammad Nawaz (2-23) and Sufiyan Muq­eem (2-25) dismissed Afghanistan for 143 in 19.5 overs before a noisy capacity 16,000 crowd at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Afghanistan matched Pakistan with opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 27-ball 38 with a six and three boundaries, adding 51 for the second wicket with Sediqullah Atal, who made 23. It was right-armer Haris who changed the game with a two-wicket 12th over sending Atal and Karim Janat back without conceding a run. Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan smashed five sixes and a four in his whirlwind 16-ball 39 but fell to Haris to end ...

Skipper Salman Agha hit an unbeaten half-century and fast bowler Haris Rauf grabbed four wickets as Pakistan upstaged Afghanistan by 39 runs in the tri-series opener in Sharjah on Friday. Agha hit a 36-ball 53 not out with three sixes and as many boundaries, which lifted Pakistan to 182-7 in their 20 overs. Pacers Rauf took 4-31 and Shaheen Afridi 2-21, while spinners Mohammad Nawaz (2-23) and Sufiyan Muqeem (2-25) dismissed Afghanistan for 143 in 19.5 overs before a noisy capacity 16,000 crowd at the Sharjah stadium. Afghanistan matched Pakistan with opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 27-ball 38 with a six and three boundaries, adding 51 for the second wicket with Sediqullah Atal, who made 23. It was Rauf who changed the game with a two-wicket 12th over, sending Atal and Karim Janat back without conceding a run. Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan smashed five sixes and a four in his whirlwind 16-ball 39 but fell to Rauf to end his team’s fight. Earlier, Pakistan was lifted by Agha’s fourth T20I half-century. Agha ancho...

At least 25 people were killed and 27 injured when a bus overturned in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, authorities told AFP, a week after the country’s deadliest road accident in years. The crash happened “due to the driver’s negligence” on a highway near the capital Kabul, leading to the southern city of Kandahar, interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said. Qani said 25 people were killed and 27 were being treated at hospitals for injuries, the extent of which was not specified. Deadly traffic crashes are common in Afghanistan, due in part to poor roads after decades of conflict, dangerous driving on highways and a lack of regulation. Last Tuesday, 78 people, including more than a dozen children, were killed in western Herat province when a bus carrying migrants returning from Iran collided with a motorcycle and a truck, according to authorities. In December last year, two bus accidents involving a fuel tanker and a truck on a highway through central Afghanistan killed at least 52.

KABUL: Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing joint efforts in counterterrorism and deepening cooperation in trade, transit, and other key sectors. The pledge came during the Sixth Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue held today in Kabul. The meeting brought together Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, China’s Foreign Minister, […]

Pakistan, China and Afghanistan on Wednesday committed themselves to bolstering joint efforts against the menace of terrorism and deepening their collaboration in key spheres. A statement to this effect followed the Sixth Trilateral Foreign Ministers Dialogue held in Kabul between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Chinese and Afghan counterparts, Wang Yi and Amir Khan Muttaqi, respectively, on the topics of political, economic and security cooperation. “The three sides committed to strengthening joint efforts against terrorism. They also reaffirmed their commitment to deepening collaboration in trade, transit, regional development, health, education, culture, and combating drug trafficking, as well as extension of CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) to Afghanistan,” the Foreign Office (FO) said on the meeting. Before the meeting, Dar met FM Muttaqi on the sidelines and the two are said to have noted the positive movement in political and economic ties between Pakistan and Afghan...

Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan on Wednesday reaffirmed their resolve to step up joint efforts against terrorism while expanding cooperation in political, economic, and security domains.

The death toll from a collision between a bus carrying Afghan migrants returning from Iran and two other vehicles in western Afghanistan has risen to 76, a provincial official said on Wednesday. “Seventy-six citizens of the country… lost their lives in the incident, and three others were seriously injured,” Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi, Herat provincial government spokesman, said in a statement. Police in Guzara district outside Herat city, where the accident took place on Tuesday night, said the bus collided with a motorcycle and a truck carrying fuel, sparking a fire. The bus was carrying Afghans recently returned from Iran to the capital Kabul, Saeedi told AFP on Tuesday. At least 1.5 million people have returned to Afghanistan since the start of this year from Iran and Pakistan, both of which have sought to force migrants out after decades of hosting them, according to the UN migration agency. The state-run Bakhtar News Agency said Tuesday’s accident was one of the deadliest in the country in recent years. Traf...

Pakistani security forces have killed 33 terrorists during an attempted infiltration along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border near Sambaza in Zhob District, Balochistan, the military’s media wing confirmed on Friday.

Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will participate in a tri-series of Twenty20 international matches to tune up for next month’s Asia Cup, followed by the Twenty20 World Cup next year, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Friday. “The tri-series will feature teams from Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UAE from 29 August to 7 September at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium,” the PCB said in a press release. The T20I tournament will serve as a “launching pad” for the teams to prepare for the Asian Cricket Council’s T20 Asia Cup, scheduled to take place in the UAE from September 9-28, it added. According to the schedule, the opening match of the tri-series tournament will be played between Afghanistan and Pakistan on August 29. Each team will play the others twice, giving all sides at least four matches before the top two teams qualify for the final, scheduled on September 7. India and Sri Lanka will co-host the Twenty20 World Cup in February-March next year. Tournament schedule (all matches at ...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday signed an Early Harvest Programme (EHP) to reduce tariffs on eight agricultural items for one year, laying the foundation for a broader preferential trade agreement (PTA) between the two countries. The EHP, which takes effect on Aug 1, will remain in force for one year and is renewable. It also allows for the future inclusion of additional items, making it the first tangible step towards launching negotiations on a comprehensive PTA. The agreement was signed by Pakistan’s Commerce Secretary, Jawad Paul, and Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Mullah Ahmadullah Zahid, who was accompanied by a delegation of senior technical officials. The Afghan delegation arrived in Islamabad on Monday night to hold detailed negotiations with Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce. Under the agreement, tariffs on four Afghan agricultural exports to Pakistan — grapes, pomegranates, apples, and tomatoes — and four Pakistani exports to Afghanistan — mangoes, kinnows, b...

ISLAMABAD - Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb yesterday said that Afghanistan was a significant market for Pakistani products.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation for effective border management and the eradication of terrorism during a high-level meeting in Kabul on Sunday.