Islamabad, 17 September 2022 (TDI): The Palestinian Rapid Response and Rescue Team PRRRT arrived in Pakistan today on a humanitarian and relief mission to assist the Pakistani authorities in dealing with the aftermath of the floods.
The Palestinian delegation was greeted at Islamabad Airport by Minister of Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Director Middle East Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Musawwar Abbas Shah, Ambassador of Palestine, and all Embassy personnel.
Later, the Embassy of the State of Palestine held a press conference for the Honorable Speakers, Javed Ahmed Umrani, Additional Secretary (ME) Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Imad M. Zuhairi, Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for IR/ PICA Director General; and Ahmed Jawad Rabei, Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Pakistan, to discuss the operations of the State of Palestine’s Rapid Response and Rescue Team PRRRT.
These efforts are part of the Palestinian People’s campaign “In Loyalty to Pakistan… Jerusalem with you,” which was launched last month by the Palestinian Presidency for flood victims in Pakistan.
The team will execute a time mission in the area of Dera Ismail Khan KPK, directed by the Assistant Minister for International Cooperation and PICA Director General, and will include specialists from the Palestinian Red Crescent, Civil Defense, and specialized medics.
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.
Also read: Palestine condoles catastrophic floods in Pakistan
