Medical aid to Afghan earthquake victims: No clearance given by Afghanistan: official

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s medical team could not leave for Afghanistan on Tuesday to provide medical aid to the earthquake victims as it did not get clearance from the Afghan authorities, said health authorities in Islamabad. The team members have now returned home.

“We decided to send a 10-member medical team comprising neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, general surgeons and nurses to Afghanistan to treat people injured in Herat earthquake. However, Afghanistan did not allow our team to land on their soil,” an official in the federal health ministry told The News on Tuesday.

The health ministry official, who requested anonymity, said two trucks loaded with essential medicines, supplies and equipment had also been dispatched to the Noor Khan Airbase for transportation to the quake-hit area of Afghanistan along with the medical team and added that Pakistani authorities were in contact with the Afghan government in this regard.

The Pakistani health ministry official maintained that the team of experts, including two neurosurgeons, two orthopedic surgeons and a general surgeon, in addition to five male nurses had reached the Noor Khan Airbase on Tuesday but were asked to return to their home after they were not allowed to fly to Afghanistan by the Afghan authorities.

“No comment until I receive response from relevant authorities,” was the response from the Taliban government spokesman Suhail Shaheen when The News approached to seek his version.