ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday offered Pakistan's assistance to Bangladesh to help it deal with devastating floods that affected millions and left at least 15 dead.
According to disaster management and relief ministry, at least 15 people have been killed in the neighbouring country while 4.5 million affected by floods following heavy rains.
In a letter to Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus, PM Shehbaz expressed deep grief and sorrow over the recent disastrous flood situation and said the sympathies of the entire Pakistani nation were with the government and people of Bangladesh.
"We stand with the people of Bangladesh who lost their loved ones, homes and jobs due to flood," he said.
He also acknowledged the bravery and courage of the Bangladeshis in the face of adversity, expressing hope that the country will come out of this challenge soon under Yunus' leadership.
The prime minister asserted that Pakistan was ready to help Bangladesh "in every way in this difficult time".
The South Asian country of 170 million people, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has seen frequent floods in recent decades and is among the countries most vulnerable to disasters and climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index.
A bulletin from the disaster ministry on Friday said: "4.5 million people have been affected, and 13 people have died across the country."
Nearly 190,000 others were taken to emergency relief shelters, according to the bulletin.
Altogether, 11 of the country's 64 districts were affected by the flooding, the bulletin added.
Feni, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of the main port city of Chittagong, was worst-hit.
"It's a catastrophic situation here," rescue volunteer Zahed Hossain Bhuiya, 35, told AFP in Feni. "We are trying to rescue as many people as we can."
The army and the navy have been deployed, with speedboats and helicopters rescuing those stranded by the swollen rivers.
— With additional input from AFP
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