Pakistan on Wednesday called for establishing regional mechanism on early warning to prevent possible disasters in the future. Addressing the General Assembly session, debating tsunami disaster, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations Masood Khalid, emphasised that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, in his capacity as Chairman of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), had also called for evolving mechanism for an Asia-wide early warning and disaster response regime.
In his statement, Masood Khalid said the people of Pakistan were shocked and saddened by this natural calamity and "it is our earnest desire to contribute in whatever manner possible, to restore normalcy in the calamity hit areas."
He said that the "President's relief fund for Tsunami victims" had been established on December 31. Besides, the newspapers and electronic media had been mobilised for the purpose.
He said people from all walks of life were generously contributing to this fund.
The Edhi Foundation, a major charitable organisation of Pakistan, had dispatched relief goods worth Rs 20 million to Sri Lanka, he said, adding the Church World Service of Pakistan had also sent donations, while the private TV channels were running telethon broadcast for raising funds.
He said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz approved Rs 50 million for the Tsunami affected people.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs visited Sri Lanka and Indonesia to express solidarity with these countries. Being neighbours in the region, he stated that Pakistan was amongst the first to respond to the human sufferings followed by the catastrophic earthquake in the Indian Ocean.
"Pakistan has sent 12 relief sorties of C-130 to Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Pakistan Navy has sent three helicopters, an expeditionary force, medical teams and engineering support equipment to these countries," he added.
He further stated that two Pakistan Naval ships, which were available in the Tsunami-hit region of Maldives, participated in the relief and rescue operations for six days. Besides distributing relief goods through helicopters, 367 persons from 21 nationalities were also evacuated, he added.
He said Pakistan was gratified that the international community had responded promptly and generously to help the victims of this unprecedented disaster.
"We appreciate the United Nations efforts in co-ordinating and facilitating the global relief work," he said, and added Pakistan would continue to support the international efforts, aimed at bringing quick support to the affected people and hastening the process of their reconstruction and rehabilitation in the Tsunami-hit countries.
The Pakistan delegation expressed its deepest condolences and solidarity with the victims of Tsunami disaster in the affected countries.
Comments
Comments are closed.