ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked the UAE government for supporting Pakistan’s flood victims, as the death toll from floods and rain-related incidents climbed to 1,343 on Wednesday.
As per the latest figures issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 1,343 people have been killed in flash floods triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan since June 14.
Last month, UAE established a humanitarian air corridor to transport relief items from the country to Pakistan.
“Our special gratitude to the UAE government for its continued support to the flood victims including the establishment of humanitarian corridor b/w our two brotherly countries,” Sharif wrote on Twitter.
The UAE embassy wrote on Twitter that three more planes carrying food, medical and pharmaceutical items had landed in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi.
“Additional Three planes loaded with tons of food, medical and pharmaceutical supplies and tents arrived in Karachi, upon the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to conduct urgent aid worth 50 million dirhams to support and assist floods affectees #UAEAid”
Floods have destroyed thousands of crops, demolished homes and displaced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in Pakistan’s Sindh, Balochistan and South Punjab areas.
Sharif also thanked the UAE Red Crescent Society for launching a donation campaign to support flood victims in Pakistan.
The Emirates Red Crescent Authority has launched the “We Stand Together” volunteering initiative to pack and deliver thousands of emergency relief kits to Pakistan’s flood-stricken people.
The volunteering event will take place simultaneously on Saturday, September 10, at 9:00 am across three locations in the UAE. In Abu Dhabi, it will take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC), Hall 8; in Dubai at Dubai Exhibition Center (DEC), in Expo City Dubai, South Hall; and in Sharjah at Expo Center Sharjah.
Pakistan and UAE enjoy deep-rooted, cordial ties with one another. Home to over 1.6 million Pakistanis and a vital trade and development partner in the Middle East, UAE also serves as a major source of investments and foreign remittances for Pakistan.