NATO determines to provide brisk assistance: ISPR

ISLAMABAD—The only task of NATO was to provide energetic assistance to the people of quake hit areas, Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj General Shaukat Sultan said. He said thousands of tons of relief items donated by locals and foreigners were lying at different airports. PIA lacks capacity for transporting all of it.
“If we cancel all cargo flights of PIA, weeks were required to bring all relief items in the quake hit areas. Whereas one NATO plane carry goods equal (to items carried by) 10 planes of PIA”. Complicated operations were also being conducted in NATO field hospitals. NATO was also providing latest facilities to the quake survivors, he said.
“Why people are not asking questions about the presence of soldiers from China, UAE, Japan, Turkey busy in relief activities in the quake zone,” he posed a question. Fact is that scores of rescuers in plain cloths and uniform have arrived Pakistan for assisting relief activities and this also includes NATO, he said.
It is a routine that the soldiers are deployed in the place of disaster for conducting relief activities. Pakistan sent soldiers to Iran when earthquake devastated there. Replying to a question he said, Army has a disaster management plan for coping with anticipated disasters. In the likely places of flood troops used to be placed with necessary equipments before time.
On the very first day of devastation 12 helicopters were moved while 35 helicopters took part in relief operation on second day. Within first week the figure crossed the mark of 60 helicopters, he said. Troops from Gujranwala, Sialkot, Mangla, Kharian were ordered to move in the evening of Oct 8. While troops residing near the place of disaster started rescue activities on their own. Within 24 hours of quake most of the roads were cleared by Army engineers, he said.
Paying rich tributes to Pakistani nation he said: “ Pakistanis are alive nation. Volunteers had done an excellent job by reaching first at the place of disaster”. Pakistan Army has provided a base for onward coordinated relief activities in the quake zone.
73 Non Government Organisations including 55 international are still participating in the relief operations aimed to provide medical treatment to the quake-hit people. ISPR said in a statement here on Tuesday that as many as forty nine countries have contributed in relief and rescue operations in some form or the other.
The countries which have assisted Pakistan are Azerbaijan, Poland, Iran, UAE, USA, Greece, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Russia, France, Czech Republic, Jordan, Spain, Singapore, Turkey, China, Japan, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, Belgium, Cyprus, Qatar, Austria, South Africa, Cuba, Ukraine, Canada, South Korea, Libya, Kyrgystan, Lebanon, Estonia, NATO, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Bangladesh, India, UK, Indonesia, Tajikistan, Luxemburg, Brazil, Kuwait, Bahrain, Nepal, Croatia, Oman, Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan. A total of 1005 tons of relief items have been received by allied countries for distribution among affectees of 8th October earthquake, ISPR concluded.—ISPR