‘Nation-wide aid being sent to victims’
DM Monitoring

ISLAMABAD—Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said that relief activities are being carried out speedily despite bad weather and the entire nation is engaged in relief work with enthusiasm. People from Khyber to Karachi are sending aid to their brothers, the Minister told Voice of America.
He said the people of Pakistan are doing a superb job by collecting and contributing aid for the affectees with generosity. Truck loads with relief goods are being despatched to the affected areas, he said.
That is why the rescue and relief activities were delayed in some affected areas, however the situation is improving gradually, he said. He said areas hit by the earthquake are vast and remote and roads have been extensively damaged.
Whatever was possible by utilizing helicopters is being done he said adding the Army has succeeded in restoring road communication so the pace of relief activities is getting better. He said it is a natural disaster and Pakistan has no experience of dealing with such situation.
That is why the rescue and relief activities were delayed in some affected areas, however the situation is improving gradually, he said.
To a question he said teams from South Korea and Japan have not brought heavy machinery with them. They are however equipped with electronic instruments that sense heart beats.
He said US helicopters have been of great help in taking machines to reopen the blocked roads.