Senate Chairman Mohammadmian Soomro would lead Pakistan's delegation at the international donors' conference to be held in Geneva on Wednesday (October 26).
In her weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said here on Monday that Advisor on Finance Dr Salman Shah would be deputy leader of the delegation and its members would include, among others, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khusro Bakhtiar and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar.
She said that Pakistan was grateful to the international community for its valuable assistance during rescue and relief phase and she hoped that it would continue to provide necessary aid during reconstruction phase. She said that some countries and organisations like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Nato established air bridges to provide vital relief goods.
The spokeswoman said that Pakistan would discuss with Nato later in the day its offer of assistance. In fact, she said, Pakistan had already communicated its requirements for reconstruction, mainly relating to building of hospitals, schools and roads.
In reply to a question Tasneem Aslam said some proposals were being discussed relating to disaster management. Pakistan would be seeking assistance from different countries that have expertise in this regard.
She said that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would visit Russia to attend the summit of Shanghai Co-operation Organisation. The short visit of the Prime Minister would provide him an opportunity to meet leaders of various countries there.
She said that Pakistan had received no communication from the United States about the visit of President Bush to Pakistan. She said that Pakistan deeply appreciated the visit of President Hamid Karzai to express solidarity with the people of Pakistan in calamity.
The spokesperson rejected reports of Indian media that Pakistan Army did not fully get involved in the rescue and relief operations for the first two days. She said Pakistan Army and people of Pakistan responded to the tragedy immediately and in an exemplary manner.
"Pakistan Army not only launched immediate rescue operation but is also working in the inaccessible areas to restore road network." She said the whole operation is geared towards saving lives, and providing shelter, food and medicines to the affected people.
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