The US has no plans to diminish its support of its ally Pakistan in its hour of need, and hopes that the international community can step up with great increased commitments to support the relief efforts, US Embassy said here on Sunday.
The Embassy said that "the United States is aware of recent stories in the media, suggesting that relief helicopters will soon stop flying if donations to UN effort don't increase", and offered the following by way of clarification.
1. US relief operations are continuing on an accelerated basis, with increasing quantities of relief supplies being airlifted on daily basis
2. In the three weeks since the devastating earthquake, US helicopters have flown nearly 800 sorties to quake-stricken areas and have delivered more than 2.8 million pounds of relief supplies. Additionally, they have evacuated nearly 3,000 people injured by the earthquake.
3. During this operation, the USA has increased and plans to further increase the number of US helicopters to respond to the requests and needs of Pakistan government and Military. On Sunday, 21 US military helicopters are involved in relief missions, flying dozens of sorties each day to relief centres and villages throughout the quake-stricken area, with more expected within coming days.
The US Embassy urged all donors to contribute urgently to support the relief efforts.