KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday offered Pakistan’s assistance to Myanmar and Thailand following a deadly earthquake that has claimed more than 1,000 lives, with many still feared to be trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings.
The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar on Friday afternoon and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
It flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-story skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometers away in Bangkok.
Sharif said he was saddened by the devastating earthquake and his thoughts and prayers were with the people of the two Southeast Asian nations in this difficult time.
“Pakistan stands in solidarity with Thailand and Myanmar, offers our support and wishes them strength, safety, and a swift recovery from this catastrophe,” he said on X.
At least 1,002 people were killed and nearly 2,400 injured in Myanmar, the ruling junta said in a statement. Around 10 more deaths have been confirmed in Bangkok.
But with communications badly disrupted, the true scale of the disaster is only starting to emerge from the isolated military-ruled state, and the toll is expected to rise significantly.
It was the biggest quake to hit Myanmar in decades and junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, issued an exceptionally rare appeal for international aid on Friday, indicating the severity of the calamity.
Offers of foreign assistance began coming in, with President Donald Trump on Friday pledging US help.
“It’s a real bad one, and we will be helping. We’ve already spoken with the country,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
An initial flight from India carrying hygiene kits, blankets, food parcels and other essentials landed in the commercial capital Yangon on Saturday.
China said it sent an 82-person team of rescuers to Myanmar.
Aid agencies have warned that Myanmar is totally unprepared to deal with a disaster of this magnitude. Some 3.5 million people were displaced by the raging civil war, many at risk of hunger, even before the quake struck.
Pakistan offers assistance to Myanmar, Thailand as quake death toll passes 1,000
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Pakistan offers assistance to Myanmar, Thailand as quake death toll passes 1,000
- The earthquake quake flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, demolished a 30-story skyscraper in Bangkok
- Aid agencies say Myanmar is totally unprepared to deal with a disaster of this magnitude, where a civil war has already displaced some 3.5 million people
Pakistan minister orders measures to ease port congestion, speed up sugar and cement handling
- Meeting in Islamabad reviewed congestion at Port Qasim and its impact on export shipments
- Ports directed to enforce first-come, first-served berthing and penalize unnecessary delays
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Saturday directed authorities to streamline sugar and cement operations at Port Qasim after reports of severe congestion caused by the slow unloading of sugar consignments disrupted export activities.
The government has been working to ease port bottlenecks that have delayed shipments and raised logistics costs for exporters, particularly in the cement and clinker sectors. The initiative is part of a broader effort to improve operational efficiency and align port management with national trade and logistics priorities.
“Improving operational efficiency is vital to prevent port congestion, which can cause delays, raise costs, and disrupt the supply chain,” Chaudhry told a high-level meeting attended by senior officials from the maritime and commerce ministries, port authorities and the Trading Corporation of Pakistan.
The meeting was informed that sugar was being unloaded at a rate below Port Qasim’s potential capacity. The minister instructed the Port Qasim Authority to optimize discharge operations in line with its daily capacity of about 4,000 to 4,500 tons.
Participants also reviewed directives from the Prime Minister’s Office calling for up to 60 percent of sugar imports to be redirected to Gwadar Port to ease the load on Karachi terminals.
Officials said all vessels at Port Qasim and Karachi Port would now be berthed on a first-come, first-served basis, with penalties to be applied for unnecessary delays.
The TCP was told to improve operational planning and coordinate vessel arrivals more closely with port authorities.
Chaudhry commended the engagement of all participants and said consistent adherence to performance standards was essential to sustaining port efficiency and preventing a recurrence of logistical disruptions.
