Fitrat slams false earthquake casualty figures

KABUL (Pajhwok): The deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Hamdullah Fitrat, says the death toll from the recent earthquake in the eastern provinces has risen, criticising some “irresponsible individuals” for circulating highly inflated and inaccurate figures.

In a post on his X, Fitrat stated that search and rescue operations continued late into Wednesday among the ruins of destroyed homes, resulting in the recovery of more bodies and a subsequent rise in the official death toll.

He noted that final verified figures had not yet been confirmed but would be announced once available.

Fitrat condemned individuals for spreading significantly higher casualty figures, emphasising that such claims were false.

As of Wednesday, Fitrat reported that at least 1,457 people had been killed, 3,394 injured and 6,782 houses destroyed in the Kunar earthquake.

Since Wednesday night, a video has been circulating on social media in which a man claims the actual casualty figures are several times higher than the official toll.

The earthquake struck around midnight on Sunday and was recorded at a magnitude of 6.0 by the US Geological Survey.

Kunar province experienced the most severe losses, while Nangarhar, Laghman, Panjshir and Nuristan provinces were also affected by the disaster.

kk/sa