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UK Increases Grant to Pakistan After Earthquake, NATO Opens Air Bridge

Posted on: Saturday, 15 October 2005, 06:00 CDT

Excerpt from report by Irfan Ghauri headlined: "International donors continue to send in aid and relief goods" by Pakistani newspaper Daily Times website on 15 October

Islamabad: In addition to an initial grant of 12m pounds, the British government has increased its financial assistance to over 20m dollars after receiving accurate assessments of the losses and requirements in quake-hit NWFP [North-West Frontier Province] and AJK [Azad - Pakistan-administered - Jammu and Kashmir], said Mark Lyall Grant, British high commissioner to Pakistan on Friday [14 October]. Grant told reporters the British rescuers were the first to reach Islamabad, just a day after the earthquake.

He said 536 tents and 20,000 blankets were handed over to the Oxfam and Islamic Relief on October 12 while another 10,000 tarpaulins, 1,000 thermal tents and 700 blankets were also given to Islamic Relief in Muzaffarabad. The British government also contributed over 250,000 dollars towards the shipment of medicines and other essential equipment by the World Health Organization. The shipment contained goods enough to sustain 40,000 people for three months. Blankets, tents and tarpaulins worth 1.1m pounds were being airlifted from Dubai to be dispatched to the quake-hit areas and the process would be completed on 16 October, he said.

The high commissioner said international experts would assess the damage and plan the reconstruction process in consultation with the government of Pakistan but initially all efforts were focused on rescue and the provision of food and shelter to the affected people.

Dr Yusaf Samiullah, the head of Department for International Development at the British embassy in Islamabad, said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had opened an air bridge for the transportation of relief goods from the European Atlantic Partnership Council nations to Pakistan.

He said the United Nations helicopter coordination unit was working with NATO, the US and the Pakistan government to supply more helicopters to participate in the relief operation. He said a large number of helicopters would arrive here by next week.

[Passage omitted]

Source: BBC Monitoring South Asia

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