Turkish delegation visits Pakistan for aid after flood disaster

ANKARA

Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu have paid a visit to Pakistan, which is struggling to cope with the flood disaster, and met with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

“As the Turkish people, we have been trying to send our aid from the first moment. As we did in Türkiye, we are here today with the same understanding for the friendly and brotherly people and the state of Pakistan, just as we take action after every disaster,” Kurum said on Sept. 2.

Soylu and Kurum held a post-flood coordination Evaluation Meeting under the chairmanship of Sharif.

Emphasizing that Pakistan stood by Türkiye in difficult times and will continue to do so, Kurum said, “Our Pakistani brothers lost their lives in the earthquakes that took place in Pakistan between 2005 and 2010.”
At that time, Turkish people provided all necessary assistance and support, and within this framework, Türkiye built 4,872 houses, schools, mosques and social facilities by our TOKİ Presidency, he added.

“Today, it is to act with the spirit of mobilization to meet the needs of the state and people of Pakistan, with the instructions of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, both at the point of damage assessment and in all areas that our Pakistani brothers need in their future lives,” Kurum said.

Türkiye had sent six planes and a train full of humanitarian aid to Pakistan in the past days and is planning to increase its deliveries in line with the observation of the Turkish delegation dispatched to Pakistan.

Pakistan has been heavily hit by weeklong monsoon rains that have caused devastating floods, leaving millions homeless, destroying infrastructure, roads and bridges, and submerging almost one-third of the country.

More than 1,000 people died, while thousands were injured and went missing. Balochistan and Sindh provinces in the country’s south were worst affected by the historical flooding.