Turkmenistan Sends Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan’s Balkh Province

A shipment of humanitarian aid from Turkmenistan, consisting of food and non-food items worth approximately 34 million Afghanis, arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday via the Aqina border crossing and was handed over to Taliban authorities in Balkh province.

According to a statement from the Balkh provincial media office, the aid package contains 68 types of items, including food, medicine, construction materials, and clothing. The assistance is intended for victims of recent earthquakes in northern Afghanistan. In recent weeks, parts of northern Afghanistan—particularly Faryab and Balkh provinces—have experienced earthquakes that caused significant casualties and damage.

At the handover ceremony, Taliban officials including Mawlawi Nurulhadi Abuadris, Deputy Governor of Balkh, and Mawlawi Aminullah Sadiq, head of the provincial foreign affairs office, were in attendance. Representing Turkmenistan were Rejep Bazarov, Chairman of the National Council, and Bazarbai Kaabayev, the country’s Consul General in Mazar-i-Sharif.

While the aid delivery symbolizes regional solidarity with Afghanistan’s earthquake victims, human rights and relief organizations—both domestic and international—have raised concerns about the transparency and distribution of the aid under Taliban administration. Calls have been made for international bodies to ensure that the assistance reaches genuine victims without misuse or discrimination.