ISLAMABAD: A 21st consignment of Pakistani humanitarian aid has reached Egypt’s El-Arish airport on way to Gaza, Pakistan’s the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Monday, reaffirming solidarity with the people of Palestine amid Israel’s military operations.
The consignment, consisting of 100 tons of relief goods, was sent via a special flight from Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport, according to the NDMA. It comprises 100 tons of ration bags, cooked meals and fruit tin packs.
Ambassador of Pakistan to Arab Republic of Egypt, Aamir Shouket, received the relief consignment and handed over to Egyptian Red Crescent Society for onward dispatch to Palestinian citizens inside Gaza.
“Ambassador Aamir Shouket expressed profound gratitude to Government of Arab Republic of Egypt under leadership of President H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Egyptian Red Crescent Society for smooth facilitation in delivering aid from the Government and people of Pakistan for the Palestinian brethren,” the NDMA said in a statement.
The latest consignment brings the total aid sent by Pakistan for Gaza to 2,027 tons, according to the NDMA.
Ambassador Shouket said Pakistan will continue to provide much needed humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people at this critical moment.
“Next humanitarian consignments are on their way and will be delivered in coordination with the Government of Arab Republic of Egypt in coming days,” he was quoted as saying by the NDMA.
Earlier, Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain, officials and senior NDMA members attended the aid dispatch ceremony at the Lahore airport. The minister appreciated the efforts of the NDMA and other welfare organizations for ensuring the timely dispatch of aid.
Pakistan has been repeatedly dispatching humanitarian relief items to Gaza, which has been reeling from food shortages and starvation, according to the global hunger monitor Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Last Friday, the IPC warned that northern Gaza is suffering from famine, adding that it is projected to spread to central and southern areas of the territory by the end of September.
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue of Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza. Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians, since October 2023, as per figures from the Gaza health ministry.
Islamabad has also been pushing the international community to force Israel to allow uninterrupted access to humanitarian supplies for the people of Gaza.
