Arshed Suad Khosa,
Pakistan's Ambassador to Nepal
........................................................
Ladies & Gentlemen,
-Let me at the outset, thank you all for your
presence here, at our Embassy for a short interaction.
-I am sure you are all very busy with covering
stories in different parts of your country which has suffered a lot, in human
and as well as in material terms, as a consequence of the deadly earthquake
that struck Nepal on April 25.
-With your engagements in view, we intend to take a
very short time from your busy schedules.
-All of us in Pakistan, as well as here in the
Embassy, have been deeply moved by the massive tragedy that hit Nepal a few
days back. We have time and again expressed our regret, sympathies and
solidarity with the people of Nepal.
-While we are aware of the magnitude of the loss, we
remain conscious of the fact that the Nepali people are brave, resilient and
strong enough to face the affects of the natural calamity and move ahead in
life. We are sure that you would overcome the disaster with courage and
determination.
-"Every calamity," it has been said,
"is to be overcome by endurance."
With patience and fortitude Nepal will pass through this test.
-In these difficult and sorrowful times, the
Government and people of Pakistan firmly stand by Nepal and share the painful
moments through which your country is currently passing through. Nepal, we are
all confident, will not yield to the calamity, but instead face her boldly.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
-We feel that it is obligatory on our part as
friends and neighbors to fulfill our responsibilities in these difficult and
painful times in Nepal. It is with this in view that Pakistan has come forward
with its relief assistance program for Nepal.
-Our Prime Minister, who was on an official visit to
the United Kingdom on April 25, not only immediately expressed deep sorrow over
the loss of lives with a condolence message, but also spoke to his Nepali
counterpart Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and offered all out
assistance to Nepal for the earthquake-affected people.
-Having experienced the 2005 earthquake's
devastation in Pakistan, we know what it means, to those in sorrow and grief,
to find friends and assistance in such tragic times. The Prime Minister
therefore immediately directed all concerned in Pakistan to make urgent
arrangements for the dispatch of relief assistance to our brotherly country
Nepal.
-On the other hand, our Mission in Kathmandu had
also immediately, in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake, approached Nepal's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Military Headquarters with our heartfelt
condolences at the extensive loss of lives and the destruction caused by the
quake. We also proposed the provision of Pakistan's urgent relief and medical
assistance to Nepal.
Ladies & Gentlemen (Pakistan's Assistance)
-Within hours of our Prime Minister's instructions,
the quarters concerned in our country were ready to dispatch required
assistance. Ours was one of the first countries to bring assistance to
Kathmandu.
-Pakistan has carried out its relief assistance to
Nepal in different phases. So far we have undertaken four phases of our relief
assistance program.
-In the first phase Pakistan supplied medical aid
and relief supplies. Two C-130 aircrafts reached Kathmandu on April 26 with
relief items that included medicines, blankets, tents, rice, lentils, a
state-of-the-art search and rescue equipment that included rubble penetrating
radars and sniffing dogs.
-On the same flight we had flown in two teams: (i) a
49-member team of doctors, which included surgeons, lady doctors and their
staff and (ii) another team of 35 members i.e the search and rescue team.
-Within hours of their arrival at Bhakthapur, both
the teams got busy with their respective work. While the recue team got
involved in search and rescue efforts, our medical team established a 30-bed
field hospital and started treating the injured men, women and children
immediately. This hospital, which is still functioning at Bhaktapur, is
equipped to handle all emergencies. Over the past few days a number of
successful operations have been performed by the team of surgeons of the
Pakistan Army at this field hospital.
-Pakistan's second and third phases of relief
assistance commenced on April 28 and May
02 respectively. During the two phases, four aircrafts arrived at the airport
in Kathmandu with assistance. The four - plane load of relief assistance
essentially included the same items that had been brought over to Nepal in the
first phase.
-However, in the third phase we also brought with us
a number of Nepali doctors, studying in medical colleges in Pakistan, who had
volunteered to travel to their home country to assist their compatriots. We had
welcomed their offer and had made arrangements for their flight to Kathmandu.
We hope that the Nepali doctors, brought
over from Pakistan, are serving their countrymen.
-Upon the request of the Nepalese Government,
Pakistan only dispatched tentage in the fourth phase of its relief assistance.
On May 5, two of our C-130 aircrafts arrived early in the morning and brought
in 700 tents for the earthquake affected people.
-Earlier, on Nepal Government's request, the Prime
Minister of Pakistan accorded immediate approval to the provision of 20,000
tents and 20 tons of rice for Nepal.
-Let me also inform you that the Prime Minister of
Pakistan also announced the establishment of an exclusive Relief Fund for
Nepal, with Pakistan nationals, at home and abroad, being mobilized to
contribute generously to the Fund.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
Let me just briefly give you a rundown of our
assistance to our brotherly country Nepal:
Relief Items
·
10,000
Kgs of Medicines
·
1556
Tents/Shelters
·
1000
Blankets
·
2000
Kgs Rice & Daal
·
3540
Meals-Ready-to-Eat
·
2840
Kgs of Dry Rations
·
State-of-the-art
Search and Rescue Equipment
·
04
Sniffing Dogs
Doctors, Medical Staff and Rescuers
·
13
Specialist Doctors and 36 Medical Staff
·
35
Search & Rescue Team Members
Medical Facility
·
Fully-equipped
30-Bed Field Hospital at Bakhtapur
Field work
·
Approximately
1684 patients have been treated.
·
23
major/minor operations have been performed at the field hospital.
·
Deliveries
of 02 babies have been handled at the field hospital.
·
02
dead bodies of women trapped under a five storey building were retrieved by the
Search & Rescue Team after 36 hours of a rescue operation.
(Full text of the speech given by Ambassador Khosa at press
conference organized in Pakistan Embassy to Nepal, Kathmandu.)
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