As Pakistan has entered the post-flood rehabilitation stage and keeping in view that the winter months are fast approaching, business entities and individuals of Sichuan, a province in southwestern China, donated goods worth approximately RMB 500,000.
The donated goods comprise much-needed items such as warm blankets, tents, water-resistant camp lights, water purification units, leather boots, etc. In collaboration with the Pakistan Studies Centre of Sichuan University, donations in kind of up to seven tones were received by the Consulate General of Pakistan.
The companies which donated included, but were not limited to, Sichuan University, Sichuan K.cen Enterprise Group, Zhongke Industrial Development (Pakistan) Co. Ltd, Zhongjing Supply Chain Management Co. Ltd, Trunk Public Welfare Group, Chengdu Prige Business Service.
The Consulate General has arranged the first non-governmental arranged flight, PK871, which flew out of Chengdu where representatives from NDMA received the cargo.
Agha Hunain Abbas Khan, Acting Consul General, said that the rains have finally stopped and the flood waters have started to recede. However, the true scale of the damage has just begun to reveal its ugly head. Initial estimates have put the total cost to Pakistan at around $30 billion. The government has now started its second phase of relief operations, where rehabilitation of the people will be focused on.
“China, Pakistan’s all-weather strategic cooperative partner and an iron-clad friend, has exemplified what it means to be a true friend, a true brother. China is the biggest country when it comes to international assistance to Pakistan, having donated over US$ 70m in aid, including funds and donations in-kind. Chinese enterprises have also stepped up and have shown their generosity”, he stated.
Agha Hunain further said that Pakistan is facing a difficult time. The recent once-in-a-generation climate-induced floods of biblical proportions have swept the country, inundating one-third of the entire land area, affecting over 33 million people, most of them women and children, and unfortunately, claiming the lives of over 1,700 people.
