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Pakistan delivered on Saturday the first consignment of relief goods for Afghan citizens affected by heavy rains and floods in the neighbouring country, according to statements issued by the Foreign Office (FO) and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
On Thursday, at least 22 people were reported dead and 40 injured due to floods in Afghanistan while hundreds of homes and crops cultivated over thousands of acres were damaged.
Expressing solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, PM Shehbaz had promised relief items for the victims and also called upon the international community to provide assistance to Afghans.
In line with the PM’s instructions, a C-130 plane was dispatched earlier today to deliver emergency relief items, including tents, flour, rice and sugar, to the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to the statement issued by the FO.
A second plane carrying food and shelter items would be sent to Afghanistan as a “gesture of goodwill for the flood victims”, the statement said.
“Pakistan, as a neighbouring country, has been at the forefront of efforts for [the] provision of humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people and hopes that the international community would also play its active part in providing timely relief and economic assistance to the affected people in Afghanistan,” the FO added.
Separately, PM Shehbaz also confirmed the delivery of relief items on Twitter, adding that more relief measures were to follow in coming days.
“Pakistan will continue to stand by Afghan brothers and sisters through thick and thin. [The] international community shouldn’t forget Afghan people in this hour of need,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan tweeted: “Pakistan’s Charge d’Affairs Saifullah Khan delivered a consignment of relief items including tents, food items and medicines, to Afghan disaster management organisations at Mazar-i-Sharif Airport”.