KABUL, Afghanistan: A strong earthquake in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border has killed at least 250 people and injured at least 500 others, officials said.

The quake late Sunday hit a series of towns in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in neighboring Nangahar province. The 6.0 magnitude at 11:47 p.m. was centered 27 kilometers (17 miles) east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the US Geological Survey said. It was just 8 kilometers (5 miles) deep. Shallower quakes tend to cause more damage.

The Kunar Disaster Management Authority said in a statement that at least 250 people were killed and 500 others injured in the districts of Nur Gul, Soki, Watpur, Manogi and Chapadare.

Jalalabad is a bustling trade city due to its proximity with neighboring Pakistan and a key border crossing between the countries. Although it has a population of about 300,000 according to the municipality, it’s metropolitan area is thought to be far larger. Most of its buildings are low-rise constructions, mostly of concrete and brick, and its outlying areas include homes built of mud bricks and wood. Many are of poor construction.

Jalalabad also has considerable agriculture and farming, including citrus fruit and rice, with the Kabul River flowing through the city.

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2023, followed by strong aftershocks. The Taliban government estimated at least 4,000 people perished.

The UN gave a far lower death toll of about 1,500. It was the deadliest natural disaster to strike Afghanistan in recent memory.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will address the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) 25th Council of Heads of State summit on Monday at Tianjin, his office said, and engage with world leaders via bilateral meetings. 

Sharif arrived in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin last week for the two-day summit which kicked off on Sunday. The Pakistani prime minister attended a banquet organized for world leaders attending the summit on Sunday night. 

Sharif held informal meetings on Sunday with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan’s Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in an earlier statement. 

“He [Sharif] will attend the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and will address participants at the summit,” the PMO said regarding the Pakistani premier’s engagements. 

It said Sharif’s address will be broadcast by the Pakistani state media, adding that he will also hold bilateral meetings with the heads of various countries on Monday. 

“At the conclusion of his engagements in Tianjin, the Prime Minister will depart for Beijing where he will participate in the Victory Day celebrations of China,” the statement concluded. 

The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus, with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners.”

China has long sought to present the regional group as a counterweight to Western-led power blocs and has pushed for greater collaboration between its member states. The organization states it aims to strengthen mutual trust, friendship and good neighborliness between member states, encourage cooperation in politics, trade, economy, science and technology, and maintain peace, security and stability in the region. 

The SCO’s supreme decision-making body is the Council of Heads of States, which meets once a year and decides upon the important issues of the organization. The Council of Heads of Government (prime ministers) meets once a year to discuss the strategy of multilateral cooperation and priority areas within the organization, determine fundamental and topical issues in economic and other spheres, and approve the SCO budget. 

SHARIF’S MEETINGS WITH CHINESE LEADERSHIP

After the summit concludes on Monday, Sharif will remain in the country till Sept. 4 to hold talks with senior Chinese leadership, including the country’s President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang, an earlier statement from Pakistan’s foreign office said.

China has long been Pakistan’s largest investor and its closest strategic ally, anchored by the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Both sides are working to advance into “CPEC 2.0,” focused on industrialization, agriculture, energy and connectivity.

During the visit, the Pakistani prime minister will also chair the second Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference in Beijing on Sept. 4 to boost trade and investment ties, the PM Office said in an earlier statement on Saturday.