The Taliban government in Afghanistan has appealed for international aid and rescue assistance after the worst earthquake to hit the country in decades.

The United Nations is among the agencies scrambling to provide emergency shelter and food aid after Wednesday’s quake – which registered 6.1 on the Richter scale – left more than 1,000 dead and 1,500 injured in the country’s eastern Paktika province.

RTHK’s South Asia correspondent Murali Krishnan on Thursday reported that the Taliban has pledged US$11 million in aid with US$1,000 for the family of each person who has been killed and US$500 for each injured person.

Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi says he has asked international organisations to contribute as well as send aid to the affected areas. Many aid agencies left Afghanistan when the Taliban took control of the country last year.

“The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says heavy rain is hampering efforts and that makes helicopters unable to make enough sorties and land safely,” Krishnan said.

“Many houses are made simply of mud with thatched roofs in this area. Desperate rescuers are digging through the rubble and the death toll is expected to rise considerably.”

Rescuers are dealing with aftershocks which have led to landslides and further building collapses in some areas. Damage and casualties have also been reported in the provinces of Khost and Nangarhar, which border Pakistan.

The UN has pledged an initial US$15 million and is also liaising with aid agencies to get aid packages to displaced families.

Afghanistan lies on a number of fault lines. Over the past decade, more than 7,000 people in the country have died in earthquakes.