Islamabad, 13 September 2022 (TDI): King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KS Relief) dispatched the first Saudi plane to aid flood victims in Pakistan.

This is a part of the Saudi nationwide campaign to aid Pakistan’s flood victims, the announcement for which was made on Monday by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, general supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center.

Floods in Pakistan 

Flooding has killed almost 1,400 people and displaced over a million in Pakistan, which has swamped roughly one-third of the nation and devastated crops in a country grappling with rising inflation and a balance of payment problem.

Melting glaciers and record torrential rains that started in June submerged more than one-third of the country, causing massive damage to residences, roadways, bridges, rail networks, cattle, and crops.

During the yearly monsoon season, which is critical for agriculture and water supply in Pakistan, severe, often damaging rains fall. However, downpours as powerful as this year’s have rarely been witnessed in decades, and quickly melting glaciers in the north have added pressure to streams for months.

Since the floods in South Asia in 2017, it has caused the most fatalities worldwide and is regarded as the worst flood in the nation’s history.

The terrible floods have also wreaked havoc on Mohenjo Daro, a famous 4,500-year-old archaeological site in the southeastern Sindh province that UNESCO has listed as a World Heritage site.

Due to the flooding, Pakistan proclaimed a state of emergency on August 25.

Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations 

The bilateral ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been cordial and friendly, with observers usually describing them as a unique partnership.

Despite Pakistan’s developing ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia’s expanding ties with India, Pakistan has been referred to be “Saudi Arabia’s closest Muslim ally.”

Following its pan-Islamic philosophy, Pakistan has taken the role of Saudi Arabia’s guardian against any foreign or domestic threat.

Saudi Arabia has also provided assistance to Pakistan in the wake of recent floods.

On August 22, Saudi Arabia began delivering 100 emergency relief trucks carrying 10,000 food packages weighing 950 tonnes to 17 flood-ravaged regions in Pakistan via KS Relief. More than 70,000 people could profit from this.

Also read: KS Relief delivers Emergency Aid to Pakistan Flood Victims