Re: Muslim states send condolences and aid to Pakistan
Gulf states dispatch aid to quake-hit Pakistan
The energy-rich Gulf states of Saudi Arabia and Qatar announced overnight Sunday they were sending emergency humanitarian aid to Pakistan following the devastating earthquake that struck South Asia. UAE President Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan also ordered the immediate dispatch of humanitarian aid to quake-hit areas of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. Saudi King Abdullah ordered the “rapid” establishment of an airlift of doctors, medicines, tents, covers and food to Pakistan, said the state news agency SPA.
A spokesman at the Qatari foreign ministry said Doha has also decided to contribute with an urgent humanitarian assistance to the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan, the official news agency QNA said. Late Saturday, a 26-strong police rescue team from Abu Dhabi police left for Pakistan to help search for survivors and treat the wounded from the earthquake. Gulf states host millions of Asians, mainly Pakistanis and Indians, who constitute the bulk of laborers in the monarchies witnessing a construction boom. A huge earthquake measuring at least 7.6 on the Richter scale shook South Asia on Saturday, leaving at least 18,000 dead.