Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif flew to Türkiye on Thursday for a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, some 11 days after two earthquakes hit the country’s southeast. Sharif’s visit is a display of solidarity with the disaster-hit country, which is mourning the tens of thousands that died in the ruins of hundreds of buildings in 10 provinces.
Sharif has set up a relief fund to support the victims of the earthquake. The first search and rescue teams from Pakistan arrived in Türkiye one day after the disaster to support the ongoing relief and rescue operations in the quake-hit areas. As a first step, the members of the federal Cabinet announced they would each donate a one-month salary to the relief fund. The federal government employees from grades 18 to 22 will also donate their one-day salary to the premier's fund. Addressing the Cabinet in the aftermath of the disaster, Sharif said Ankara always supported Pakistan in any hour of need.
"Helping our Turk brethren is our religious duty," Sharif asserted.
Pakistan on Wednesday dispatched 6.7 tons of relief goods, primarily winterized tents, for Türkiye's earthquake victims, the country's disaster management authority said.
The fresh consignment, part of Islamabad's ongoing support to the quake-hit citizens of Türkiye and Syria, was dispatched through a Pakistan International Airlines flight, a statement from the National Disaster Management Authority said. Islamabad has already dispatched over 150 tons of relief goods, including tents, clothes and food items, in addition to army and civilian-trained volunteers and rescue teams to Türkiye's quake-stricken regions. Several Pakistani charities, including the Al-Khidmat Foundation, Baitussalam Welfare Trust and the Edhi Foundation, have also been engaged in the relief and rescue operations in different earthquake-hit areas. Meanwhile, Pakistan's leading NGO, Alkhidmat Karachi, on Tuesday handed over the first installment of funds, a cheque for 20 million rupees ($75,000) for the earthquake victims to the Turkish consul general in Karachi, Cemal Sangu.
