China provides more emergency humanitarian supplies

ISLAMABAD: China has decided to provide yet another additional batch of emergency humanitarian supplies to Pakistan for flood victims.

It includes 25,000 tents and other needed supplies. The Chinese Red Cross Society will provide US$300,000 in emergency cash assistance to the Pakistan Red Crescent Society while the All Pakistani-Chinese Enterprises Association has donated Rs15 million to the Prime Minister’s flood relief fund.

This was announced by Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese government, on Monday in Beijing.

He said under the Social and Livelihood Cooperation Framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), China has provided 4,000 tents 50,000 blankets and 50,000 pieces of tarpaulins to Pakistan. They have been delivered to the frontline of disaster relief.Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) is supporting Pakistan as the country takes stock of floods which have reportedly killed more than 1,000 people and displaced some 33 million, the UN agency said on Monday, says a press release.

Through its National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), which has declared a national emergency, is leading the response in coordinating assessments and directing humanitarian relief to affected people.

WFP has been asked to assist in the emergency response, and staff are working with the authorities and partners to expand food assistance. The aim is to reach nearly half a million people in the badly hit provinces of Balochistan, where the agency already supports nearly 42,000 people, and Sindh. However, distributions are currently on hold as floodwaters create access constraints across the country.

Waters have also disrupted lives and livelihoods in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. More than 100 bridges and some 3,000km of roads have been damaged or destroyed, nearly 800,000 farm animals have perished, and two million acres of crops and orchards have been hit.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities contacted the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and pledged flood relief equipment for Pakistan s flood-affected people.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the UAE authorities had contacted the COAS for flood relief assistance.UAE has pledged 20 aircraft sorties flood relief equipment to assist the flood victims across Pakistan, the ISPR added.

Meanwhile, international aid was reaching Pakistan, as the military and volunteers desperately tried to evacuate many thousands stranded by widespread flooding driven by monster monsoons that have claimed more than 1,000 lives this summer.

Cargo planes from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates began the international rush to assist the impoverished nation, landing on Sunday in Islamabad carrying tents, food and other daily necessities. Trucks carrying tents, food, and water arranged by Pakistan were also being dispatched to various parts of the country by the National Disaster Management Authority for tens of thousands of flood victims.

Meanwhile, the Punjab cabinet announced donating one-month salary to flood affected people.The second meeting of the provincial cabinet was held under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi at his office.

Addressing the meeting, the CM announced reserving his helicopter for flood victims and said that it should be used to provide relief to the distressed population.It was also decided to meet the needs of other flood-affected provinces and the CM announced the dispatch of medicines and medical staff to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan. The Punjab government stands with the affected people of other provinces in the hour of need, he said. The meeting endorsed the decision to declare flood-affected areas of Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Mianwali as calamity-stricken and prayers were offered for the departed souls. It also extended sympathies to the bereaved heirs.

The CM directed speeding up relief activities in a systematic manner and said that tents, food hampers and other equipment would be provided in the affected areas as needed. The government would also compensate for damages to houses, crops and livestock and every rightful person would be given their right, he said and directed that no one s right should be usurped.