Speech of the Deputy PM for Economic Affairs during his Visit with the Earthquake-Affected People of Kunar Province
In the name of Allah, the most merciful, the most compassionate.
Esteemed provincial officials of Kunar and the afflicted and mujahid people of this province,
Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.
It is a matter of sorrow that the devout people of Kunar are mourning due to the earthquake, many dignified families have lost their loved ones, numerous individuals have been injured, and many homes have been destroyed.
May Allah grant the martyrs the highest ranks of Paradise (Jannat al-Firdaws), grant the wounded a swift recovery, and grant their families beautiful patience.
You know very well that in the past four years, this is the third time that severe earthquakes have caused heavy human and material losses to our citizens, resulting in a large number of martyrs and widespread destruction of homes.
Despite limited resources, the Islamic Emirate, with the help of its citizens, managed to provide timely response to these incidents.
We also assure you that the Islamic Emirate stands by you and will continue to fully support you at all times.
Islam teaches us brotherhood, empathy, and mutual support in times of hardship. For this reason, from the very first moments of this incident, the Islamic Emirate dispatched emergency relief teams to the affected areas and mobilized all available resources to address the crisis.
Since these efforts have been made with the cooperation of compassionate individuals from among this afflicted community, I express my gratitude and appreciation to all those citizens who took part in funeral rites, provided medical treatment for the wounded, ensured shelter for the displaced, and worked to meet their basic needs while standing alongside the Emirate’s officials.
We have instructed all responsible officials to collect assistance and distribute it transparently to eligible affected citizens. Various committees have been assigned to work day and night in this regard.
We cannot rely solely on government resources in response to this disaster. As this is a major and Islamic obligation, I call upon all wealthy individuals, traders, businessmen, and heads of charitable foundations to step forward and assist those affected by the Kunar earthquake.
We are striving to implement necessary plans for the reconstruction of affected areas, secure resources for rebuilding homes, and adopt measures to reduce potential losses from future natural disasters.
We extend our gratitude and prayers for reward to all citizens, national businessmen, and charitable organizations that have provided assistance according to their capability.
Likewise, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expresses appreciation to countries, international organizations, and humanitarian institutions for their condolences, sympathy, humanitarian assistance, and support in relation to the human and material losses caused by the recent earthquake in the eastern regions of the country.
We call upon the international community to lift the financial and economic sanctions imposed on Afghanistan in these difficult circumstances, so that the obstacles hindering aid delivery to affected Afghans and the resolution of economic challenges are removed.
Once again, we urge all national businessmen, wealthy citizens, charitable foundations, organizations, and countries to support the earthquake-affected citizens and extend humanitarian assistance to them in this difficult situation.
Finally, once more, I instruct the Emirate’s officials and personnel to provide the necessary facilities for restoring normal living conditions for this afflicted community and to place required state resources at their disposal.
Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.