JAKARTA/MANILA: Indonesia and the Philippines on Tuesday sent rescue teams to assist Myanmar, where the death toll from a huge earthquake has passed 2,700.

Rescuers and aid workers have been struggling to reach victims and find survivors after the 7.7-magnitude quake struck at midday on Friday near Myanmar’s second-largest city, Mandalay, destroying scores of buildings and ancient cultural sites. 

In the wake of the disaster, neighboring Southeast Asian countries have rallied to send humanitarian assistance to Myanmar. 

Indonesia dispatched a 53-member search and rescue team on Tuesday, after on Monday sending a smaller group and 12 tonnes of humanitarian aid comprising tents, food and logistical supplies. 

“The earthquake has caused massive suffering. As of today the death toll stands at around (2,700), but there are still plenty of people who must be saved,” Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said during a send-off ceremony in Jakarta. 

The strongest earthquake to hit Myanmar in more than a century damaged critical infrastructure and communication, further hampering relief efforts in a country that was already facing a humanitarian crisis from an ongoing civil war. 

Death toll from the quake has reached 2,719 and is expected to rise, Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing said in a televised address on Tuesday, adding that about 4,500 people were injured and more than 400 were missing. 

Friday’s earthquake was also felt in Thailand, where the death toll stands at 21.

The Philippines has dispatched the first batch of a 91-member emergency team, which includes members of the Philippine Air Force, the Department of Health, and the Bureau of Fire Protection, to help with search and rescue efforts.  

The remainder of the group will depart on Wednesday for a two-week deployment to Myanmar, the Philippine Air Force said in a statement. 

“Bringing with them essential search and rescue equipment and medical supplies, these personnel are ready to perform life-saving operations, provide medical assistance, and deliver critical aid throughout the mission,” the PAF said. 

Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos and Singapore have sent their own teams to Myanmar to assist with the ongoing search and rescue operations, which have reportedly been slowed because of a lack of heavy machinery, forcing many to search for survivors by hand in daily temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. 

Malaysia, which chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, said that countries from the region are working closely to support Myanmar. 

“These deployments reflect ASEAN’s united response and commitment to standing together in times of hardship,” Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has postponed a deadline for hundreds of thousands of Afghans to return to their country due to Eid Al-Fitr holidays marking the end of Ramadan, a government official said on Tuesday.
In early March, Islamabad announced a deadline of the end of the month for Afghans holding certain documentation to leave the country, ramping up a campaign to send Afghans back to their homeland.
“The deadline has been extended until the beginning of next week due to Eid holidays,” the official said on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Afghans holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) — issued by Pakistan authorities and held by 800,000 people, according to the United Nations — face deportation to Afghanistan after the deadline.
More than 1.3 million Afghans who hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, are also to be moved outside the capital Islamabad and neighboring city Rawalpindi.
The UN says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan, many having fled there over decades of war in their country and after the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan.
“Many have been living in the country for years and going back means going back to nothing,” Pakistani human rights lawyer Moniza Kakar said.
Ties between the neighboring countries have frayed since the Taliban takeover, with Pakistan accusing Kabul’s rulers of failing to root out militants sheltering on Afghan soil, a charge the Taliban government denies.
A delegation from Islamabad met with officials in Kabul in March, with Pakistan emphasizing the importance of security in Afghanistan for the region.
The Taliban government has repeatedly called for the “dignified” return of Afghans to their country, with Prime Minister Hassan Akhund urging countries hosting Afghans not to force out them out.
“We ask that instead of forced deportation, Afghans should be supported and provided with facilities,” he said in an Eid message the day before Pakistan’s original deadline.
Rights groups have condemned Pakistan’s campaign.
Human Rights Watch slammed “abusive tactics” used to pressure Afghans to return to their country “where they risk persecution by the Taliban and face dire economic conditions.”
Afghan girls and young women would lose rights to education if returned to Afghanistan, as per Taliban authority bans.
Amnesty International condemned the removal of Afghans in Islamabad awaiting resettlement in other countries, saying they would be “far from foreign missions who had promised visas and travel documents, and risk deportation due to the increased difficulty in coordinating their relocation with missions such as the United States.”
Following an ultimatum from Islamabad in late 2023 for undocumented Afghans to leave Pakistan, more than 800,000 Afghans returned between September 2023 and the end of 2024, according UN figures.