Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent messages of condolences to his counterparts in both Afghanistan and Pakistan over a powerful earthquake that so far claimed over 360 people.
The magnitude-7.8 earthquake with a depth of 210 km hit Hindu Kush mountain range in northern Afghanistan at 0909 GMT on Monday, according to China Earthquake Networks Center, with strong tremors felt in Pakistan and India.
In his message to Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Xi said China and Afghanistan share a traditional friendship and the Chinese people are saddened by the losses of life and property in Afghanistan in the earthquake.
Meanwhile, in his message to Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, Xi said that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners of cooperation and the Chinese people also feel the pains of the Pakistani people in the face of the disaster.
The Chinese leader pledged to provide the two countries assistance if needed, expressing the belief that the two countries can overcome the aftermath of the disaster and rebuild their homelands.
