Freezing Cold Claims Four Lives in Badakhshan

Local officials in Badakhshan reported that four people died in the severe cold weather in the border area. Ahmad Naweed Frotan, spokesman for Badakhshan governor, told Killid that four people, including three women, died in Pamir yesterday. He added that six others, including three women, are in serious condition and have been sent to hospitals in Tajikistan for further treatment. The spokesman warned that if the central government does not pay serious attention to the province’s border districts, especially Pamir, there would be more deaths in the winter from cold and hunger. Pamir residents are the most deprived and disadvantaged people in Afghanistan, he said. On an official visit to Kyrgyzstan earlier, Ahmad Faisal Bigzad, provincial governor, had sought help for his people in Pamir. A press release from the Badakhshan governor’s office stated that Kyrgyzstani officials have pledged help with the reconstruction of medical facilities and schools.