Flash floods have killed at least 20 people in eastern Afghanistan’s Logar province following heavy rains. In addition, more than 30 people were injured and more than 3,000 houses were destroyed, the provincial governor’s office said on Sunday. Security forces and aid organizations would move people to safe areas after their homes were destroyed.
According to the authorities, the water masses also destroyed around 5,000 hectares of agricultural land, especially orchards. In addition, around 2000 animals died.
Government spokesman Bilal Karimi issued a statement asking for help from the international community. “We urge the international community to stand by Afghans at this critical time and spare no effort to help the victims.” 21 provinces are expected.
Since the radical Islamic Taliban took power last August, international aid programs have been drastically reduced. The West fears that aid could flow directly into the pockets of the Taliban. Floods and torrential rains kill dozens of Afghans every year, particularly in impoverished rural areas where many houses are at risk of collapsing.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wants to consult with her Pakistani counterpart, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on further exit options for vulnerable people from Afghanistan. Things are not looking good, said the Greens politician on Sunday at the federal government’s open day at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin against the background of the restrictive behavior of the militant Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan. But she very much hopes that it will be possible to get several thousand people out of the country via Pakistan in the next few weeks.
Baerbock actually wanted to receive Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Berlin this Monday and talk about further exit options. However, Zardari canceled his trip to Europe at short notice due to flooding in his country, as his ministry announced on Sunday.
The Taliban are currently preventing the implementation of an agreement between Germany and Pakistan, which the federal government had promised would allow many other particularly vulnerable people to leave the country in the near future. The agreement reached between Baerbock and her Pakistani counterpart during a visit to Islamabad in early June was intended to enable former local staff to enter the neighboring country without a passport.
A citizen had previously asked Baerbock how she could work with Pakistan, even though the country stands against Western values. The minister replied that it was a question of consideration. She does not issue any “blank cheques”, she addresses dissent very clearly.
But the minister also added: “If I want to protect people, I have to talk to countries like Qatar, Pakistan and a few other neighboring countries because they have to cross their borders first.” Baerbock emphasized: “We work together because Otherwise, I wouldn’t give the few people I can get out of the country any chance of leaving.”