ISLAMABAD - Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has appreciated aid from China amid destructive flash floods in the country as timely and useful.
The Foreign Minister acknowledged that the international response had been encouraging, reported Gwadar Pro on Thursday.
“Among the deliveries, four Chinese planes have delivered a total of 3,000 tents and other relief goods.” Bilawal mentioned. The Foreign Minister accompanied diplomats on a flight over the flooded regions, which Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman earlier described as “one third (33 percent) of the country.”
The FM remarked that China had acted fast and sent useful aid on time. He also thanked other countries for their contribution.
Global aid has already started arriving in Pakistan as the scale of flood devastation unfolds, with planes carrying tents, food and medicines arriving from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
International aid agencies have asked for the easing of curbs on imports of food from India, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said.
Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman told a news conference it will take a long time to bring the situation under control. “There is a severe issue of clean drinking water in the flooded areas. Diseases are spreading,” she warned.
Colossal volumes of water are pouring into the Indus River, spilling out along its length and leaving vast tracks of land submerged.
The floods have washed away standing and stored crops that officials say will likely lead to a food shortage, with prices of edible items shooting up in a country already suffering from 24.9% inflation.