Afghan official thanks China for aid to quake-affected families

Photo taken on July 2, 2022 shows afghan man carrying China-donated quake relief supplies in Paktika province, Afghanistan. Mawlawi Mansoor, head of Natural Disaster Management Authority of Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province, on Saturday thanked China for sending humanitarian assistance to quake-affected families. (Photo by Sabwoon/Xinhua)

BARMAL, Afghanistan, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Mawlawi Mansoor, head of Natural Disaster Management Authority of Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province, on Saturday thanked China for sending humanitarian assistance to quake-affected families.

"We are thankful to China for sending assistance particularly tents to the quake-affected people here and I am also hopeful that the neighboring country could help rebuild the ruined houses," Mansoor told Xinhua.

Mansoor said his team distributed about 300 tents to the quake victims in Barmal district of Paktika province on Saturday, which are part of 920 pieces of tents and clothes donated by China.

Expressing gratitude to China for the humanitarian aid, Karim Khan, an elder of Barmal district, told Xinhua that "the tents can solve our problem temporarily and we need to rebuild our houses before winter" to survive the freezing season.

China has pledged 50 million yuan (7.5 million U.S. dollars) in emergency humanitarian aid for quake victims in war-torn Afghanistan.

A number of countries, including China, India, Pakistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan, have sent or announced assistance to quake-affected regions in Afghanistan.

A devastating earthquake jolted eastern Afghanistan on June 22, which left more than 1,000 people dead and over 1,500 others injured in Paktika and neighboring Khost province.