Pakistan sends urban search and rescue team to assist cyclone-hit Sri Lanka

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Pakistan has sent an urban search and rescue team to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka, where severe flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have claimed more than 400 lives.

According to Radio Pakistan, a Pakistan Air Force C-130 aircraft carrying a 47-member team along with 6.5 tons of essential equipment has departed to participate in the humanitarian and rescue efforts.

Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad for seeing off the aid on Wednesday morning, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik said the urban search and rescue team was being sent to help the people affected by the cyclone in Sri Lanka.

He asserted that Pakistan and its government stood in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka. The NDMA chairman further said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir had directed “full-out support” to assist those affected.

“Pakistan has committed all-out support since November 28 when the cyclone impacted Sri Lanka,” he said. He said that a Pakistan Navy ship that was in the area was immediately tasked with staying with the Sri Lankan government and evacuating those people stranded in the rains.

The NDMA chairman said that Cyclone Ditwah was “unfortunate and unprecedented” because a decline had previously been observed in hurricanes in South Pacific, with more cyclone-related activity being witnessed in the southern Indian Ocean and southern Arabian Sea.

He said that the urban search and rescue team being sent for assistance was a “very competent military team” that was also experienced in being a key search and rescue partner for other teams in the recent past. He said the team will remain in the field as long as required.

Malik said the government had also dispatched 200 tons of cargo assistance for Sri Lanka yesterday that would sail out from Karachi via a commercial container ship.

“The prime minister has also committed additional support from Pakistan if required,” he added.

Malik also said that climate change was threatening “all nations alike”, saying this was the time to “collate global knowledge” on early warning systems.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry also spoke at the press conference, extending his “deepest condolences” to Sri Lanka on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan.

He added that another aid consignment would be sent from Lahore, where Sri Lankan planes were to arrive, and an additional consignment would be sent from Karachi.

“Everything that is possible for the government of Pakistan to do will be done,” he assured the Sri Lankan ambassador, who was also present at the ceremony.

“We stand with you in these testing times,” he said.

The development comes a day after the Foreign Office (FO) said that India was preventing humanitarian assistance from being sent to Sri Lanka by air, prompting Islamabad to send aid by sea to the South Asian island.

A statement issued by the Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka also said Pakistan’s aircraft were awaiting clearance to fly and accused India of blocking the humanitarian relief operation through “shenanigans”.

It said that since Saturday, the Pakistan Army and the NDMA had been ready for relief operations in Sri Lanka.

“However, for more than two days, Pakistan’s emergency relief mission comprising C-130 aircraft carrying a fully equipped urban search and rescue team, field hospitals, highly trained sniffer dogs and nearly 200 tonnes of life-saving supplies have remained stranded at Noor Khan Air Base in Islamabad due to delaying tactics deployed by India in granting flight clearance to C-130 aircraft,” it said.

PM orders full support for relief activities

Yesterday, PM Shehbaz also presided over a meeting in Islamabad that was called to review relief activities in parts of Sri Lanka affected by Cyclone Ditwah, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.

Outlining details of the meeting, the report said the PM directed relevant authorities to extend full support for the ongoing relief efforts in Sri Lanka.

The report quoted PM Shehbaz as saying: “Pakistan will also play a significant role in the restoration and rehabilitation of flood-affected areas of Sri Lanka after the search and rescue phase”.

He expressed regret over the loss of lives due to the cyclone and said that “we stand with the government and people of Sri Lanka during this crisis”, the report said.

It added that participants of the meeting were informed that an urban search and rescue team from Pakistan would be departing for Sri Lanka on Wednesday (today), along with additional relief supplies to be sent via commercial sea vessels.

The meeting was also told that Pakistan Navy ship Saif had been engaged in relief operations during its deployment in Sri Lanka. A helicopter on board the Pakistan Navy ship rescued a family that had been stranded for five days, the report said.

It further stated that participants of the meeting expressed the “resolve to continue providing relief and rescue assistance in Sri Lanka”.

PM Shehbaz also received a telephone call on Tuesday evening from Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

During the conversation, the prime minister expressed grief over the loss of life and widespread destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka. He conveyed condolences to the people and the government of Sri Lanka, especially to the families who lost their loved ones in the catastrophic floods and landslides that claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands of people across the country.

The Sri Lankan president thanked PM Shehbaz for Pakistan’s expression of solidarity with his nation, as well as for the provision of humanitarian assistance. He appreciated that Pakistan was among the first countries to respond after the cyclone.