President Pranab Mukherjee today expressed deep concern over loss of lives and destruction of property due to the earthquake in Pakistan, Afghanistan and northern India, while extending all co-operation to the neighbouring nations.
“The President expressed confidence that the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan will overcome this setback with fortitude and assured that the Government and people of India would extend whatever support possible in this difficult hour.
“The President conveyed his condolences to the grieving families and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured,” an official statement said.
The powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquakequake in Pakistan and Afghanistan lasted for one minute, with its epicentre in Jarm, about 250 kms from the capital Kabul in Afghanistan’s northeast.
Almost 300 people have been killed and over 1,000 others injured in northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. The powerful earthquake killed at least 31 people in Afghanistan, including 12 girls, who were crushed in a stampede while fleeing from their schools.
In India, the earthquake sent ripples across several states like Jammu and Kashmir, National Capital Region (NCR), Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan and left two Army personnel injured in Kashmir’s Sopore district.