NDMA sends 47-member team, 6.5 tons of aid to provide relief from cyclone destruction
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a dedicated search and rescue team was dispatched early Wednesday to support operations in the affected areas of Sri Lanka.
A Pakistan Air Force C-130 aircraft carrying a 47-member team along with 6.5 tons of essential equipment has departed to participate in the humanitarian and rescue efforts.
The departure ceremony for the relief consignment was attended by Federal Minister Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Chairperson NDMA Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik and Sri Lankan High Commissioner Fred Senevirathne.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Chaudhry stated that NDMA remains fully committed to responding to disasters and mitigating their adverse impacts both within Pakistan and in affected countries abroad.
Senevirathne expressed gratitude to the people and the Government of Pakistan for the timely provision of emergency assistance.
The NDMA has additionally arranged for the dispatch of relief goods through Sri Lankan Airlines operating between Colombo and Lahore. Yesterday, under the special directive of the Prime Minister, NDMA sent 200 tons of relief supplies to Sri Lanka via sea shipment.
The relief items dispatched include family tents, blankets, quilts, life jackets, inflatable boats, de-watering pumps, lamps, mats, mosquito nets, infant dry milk, ready-to-eat food, and essential medicines. Pakistani Navy ships and helicopters are actively engaged in relief operations in Sri Lanka.
Read: Sri Lanka floodwaters rise, death toll hits 69
After a special request from the President of Sri Lanka to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, NDMA is also sending temporary bridges from the Pakistan Army to support restoration and access efforts in the affected regions.
Yesterday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that its humanitarian assistance mission to Sri Lanka was delayed for more than 60 hours due to India withholding full flight clearance.
The ministry said that the partial clearance granted by India late Sunday, after a 48-hour wait, was operationally impractical, being limited to only a few hours and not valid for the return journey.
The Foreign Ministry described the delay as “severely hindering this urgent relief mission” intended for the “brotherly people of Sri Lanka”.
India has denied all claims that it blocked airspace for Pakistan’s humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka
At least 153 people have been killed in Sri Lanka after landslides and flooding caused by Cyclone Ditwah, with 191 others missing and more than half a million affected nationwide.
According to the Disaster Management Centre, more than 78,000 people have been moved to nearly 800 relief centres, mostly set up in schools.
