Kabul (IP) - Acting minister of disaster management and humanitarian affairs of Afghanistan's Taliban-led caretaker government said that after the earthquake in Afghanistan, the Taliban contacted neighboring countries and the international community to send immediate aid to the quake-hit areas.

Iran PressIran news: Ghulam Ghaws Naseri told reporters: "Among the neighboring countries, Iran was the first country to send the necessary aid to the earthquake victims in Afghanistan."

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook Paktika and Khost provinces in southeastern Afghanistan last Wednesday, killing and injuring thousands of Afghans.

Naseri added that the depth of the disaster is very wide in the quake-hit areas. The basic needs have reached the people of Afghanistan and what is important now is the construction of houses and the world community has a responsibility for that.

The Taliban official clarified that with the onset of the cold season in the next few months, the Afghan people in the quake-hit areas could not live in tents, and in such circumstances, humanitarian aid should not be politicized; however, the West has already done so.

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"The West should help Afghans if it claims to be a supporter of human rights, and if it does not, it should at least release blocked Afghan assets worth $9 billion," he added.

Peyman Namdar, Vice President of Iran Red Crescent Society (IRCS) for Health, Treatment, and Rehabilitation, also said that Afghan earthquake victims were in a difficult situation.

Speaking to the reporters in Kabul on Tuesday Namdar said that more aid was needed to meet the needs of earthquake victims and to develop water, electricity, and housing infrastructure.

Namdar said that in order to rebuild the infrastructure of the earthquake-stricken areas in southeastern Afghanistan, international institutions need to help the people and the Taliban government to rebuild destroyed houses and build electricity and water networks.

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