“The news about the earthquake in the provinces of Paktika and Khost of Afghanistan, which caused the death of a large number of residents of these regions and led to significant material damage, deeply saddened us,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports on behalf of the Government of Tajikistan.

The condolence letter from the Government of Tajikistan reads, in particular: “The Government and people of Tajikistan express their condolences to the families, relatives and friends of those who died as a result of the earthquake. We wish a speedy recovery to those affected by this natural disaster.”

An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 occurred on the night of June 22 in the Afghan provinces of Paktika, Khost, Laghman, Ghazni, Logar and Kabul.

According to the Bakhtar news agency, at least 1,000 people were killed and another 1,500 were injured. Local authorities fear that there may be more victims and injured.