ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani C-130 aircraft carrying relief goods landed in Iran’s Ahwaz city on Wednesday, the foreign office said, to assist victims of floods that have killed at least 70 people and inundated some 1,900 communities.
The flood disaster in Iran, arising from exceptionally heavy rainfall since March 19, has left aid agencies struggling to cope and seen 86,000 people moved to emergency shelters.
The Pakistani foreign office said in a statement a first plane carrying relief goods had landed in Iran and another plane would leave tomorrow, Thursday. Riffat Masood, Islamabad’s Ambassador to Tehran, handed over more than 32 tons of relief material, including blankets, tents and medical kits, to Iranian officials on Wednesday.
On Monday, Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi spoke to his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif on the phone and informed him that as a “gesture of goodwill,” Pakistani Prime Minister Khan had instructed that two planeloads of relief goods be sent immediately to the cities of Ahwaz and Khorumabad in Iran.
“Relief assistance by Pakistan would aim at meeting some of the urgent needs of the flood-affected population in Iran,” the foreign office said in a statement.
On Sunday, Khan had announced plans to offer all necessary humanitarian assistance to Iran.
“Our prayers go to the people of Iran as they deal with unprecedented flooding,” Khan said in a tweet. “We stand ready to provide any humanitarian assistance required.”
US sanctions have largely prevented the Iranian Red Crescent from obtaining any foreign financial aid to assist victims of flooding. Iran’s state budget is already stretched under US sanctions on energy and banking sectors.
Iran acted on Saturday to evacuate more towns and villages threatened by floods after continued rain in the southwest.
Pakistan sends first planeload of aid to flood-hit Iran
Pakistan sends first planeload of aid to flood-hit Iran
- Pakistani C-130 aircraft carrying relief goods landed in Ahwaz city on Wednesday, another plane to be dispatched tomorrow
- Prime Minister Khan on Sunday announced all necessary humanitarian assistance for Iran as floods kill at least 70 people
Pakistan PM reaffirms solidarity with Saudi Crown Prince after Yemen port strike
- Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment in Yemen’s port city of Mukalla amid regional tensions
- Sharif emphasizes the need to maintain unity and harmony among Muslim states during the phone call
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s “complete solidarity” with Saudi Arabia during a phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday, a day after Riyadh bombed a weapons shipment from the United Arab Emirates in Yemen that it said was intended for separatist forces.
The conversation came a day after Sharif met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Rahim Yar Khan, a city in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, where the Emirati ruler made a private stay following an official visit to Islamabad last weekend.
Pakistan maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with the two Gulf states playing a key role in supporting its fragile economy.
“The Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone conversation with His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this evening,” the PM Office said in a statement circulated in Islamabad.
It said the two leaders “discussed and exchanged views on the regional situation and current developments.”
“The Prime Minister emphasized upon the need to maintain unity and harmony among the ranks of the Ummah, in the midst of various current challenges,” the statement added. “While expressing Pakistan’s complete solidarity with the Kingdom, the Prime Minister said that it was imperative to maintain regional peace and stability through dialogue and diplomacy.”
The Saudi bombing of the UAE shipment in Yemen’s southern port city of Mukalla came after heightened tensions linked to advances by the Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry earlier on Wednesday also expressed concern over renewed violence in Yemen, warning that unilateral actions by any Yemeni party could further escalate the conflict and destabilize the region.
In a statement, the ministry reaffirmed Islamabad’s support for the Kingdom’s security as well as Yemen’s unity and territorial integrity, and welcomed regional efforts aimed at de-escalating the situation and restoring peace and stability.
Saudi Arabia is a leading supplier of oil to Pakistan and has extended billions of dollars in loans in recent years to help the South Asian nation avert default on foreign debt and manage an economic crisis.
The two countries also signed a mutual defense agreement last September that defines an attack on either country as an attack on both.
With input from AP
