Turkiye & Pakistan were ‘two hearts, with one soul’: PM Shehbaz

ISLAMABAD, Sep 02 (SABAH): Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif received Turkish Minister for Interior, Suleyman Soylu, Turkish Minister for Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, Murat Kurum, Chairman of Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD), Director General for Turkish Low-Cost Housing Agency (TOKI) and accompanying delegation on Friday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his profound gratitude to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his phone call to offer sympathies and condolences over the human and material losses due to the floods and reaffirm Turkiye’s commitment to extend all possible support and dealing with this climate-induced calamity. Immediately following President Erdogan’s phone call, the Prime Minister noted, Turkiye sent humanitarian relief assistance to Pakistan in the form of tents, food items, medicines and emergency relief goods for the flood victims. So far, 11 Turkish military aircraft and 02 ‘Goodness Trains’ had been dispatched.

The Prime Minister recalled Turkiye’s steadfast support and assistance to Pakistan during the 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods. He underlined that Turkiye and Pakistan were “two hearts, with one soul” and had always supported each other during difficult times.

Apprising the delegation of the catastrophe caused by Flash floods, the Prime Minister stated that Pakistan was threatened with food insecurity in the country as millions of crops were devastated by the floods.

The Prime Minister looked forward to Turkiye’s assistance and overcoming the challenges caused by massive destruction to country’s infrastructure, loss of people’s livelihoods, food shortage and socio-economic insecurity during the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase.

PM Shehbaz Sharif said that over 1000 people including 300 children were killed in the result of the recent flood in different parts of Pakistan. He said that millions of people have become homeless, they have lost their life savings, crops washed away, livestock drowned and damage to houses and now people are spending nights under the open sky. PM Shehbaz Sharif said that he has not seen this kind of catastrophic situation in his lifetime, adding that I hope and pray from Allah Almighty that this never happened again.

PM Shehbaz Sharif said the unprecedented cloud bursts and torrential rains have hit the province of Sindh the most and the province of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan and partly Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He said that these rainfalls have been highest in the last 40 years.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu conveyed heartfelt condolences from President Erdogan over the loss of precious lives and destruction of valuable property during the recent monsoon flash floods. He underscored that Turkiye immediately established air and land ‘bridges and fraternity’ to provide relief support to the flood affectees. He added that today, during the Friday prayers, the people in Turkiye will pray for their brothers and sisters in Pakistan and mobilize further support. The Turkish Minister added that in line with President Erdogan’s instructions, Turkiye’s relevant institutions and agencies dealing with natural disasters stood ready to provide enhanced support in line with Pakistan’s requirements.

The Turkish delegation, led by Interior Minister Soylu, is visiting Pakistan as a gesture of solidarity and support in wake of the recent flash floods in the country. The delegation is also scheduled to undertake an aerial on-site visit of the flood affected areas.

Federal Ministers Rana Sanuallah Khan, Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhry, Sherry Rehman, Maulana Abdul Wasey, Shazia Atta Marri, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and other officials were also present on the occasion.