ISLAMABAD: The Government of Pakistan has pledged US $1 million as contribution for utilisation towards the reconstruction and rehabilitation process currently ongoing in Nepal after the devastating earthquakes that hit the country earlier this year.
The announcement was made by the acting head of Pakistan's Mission in Nepal during the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction, held in Kathmandu on June 25.
According to a press release issued by the Prime Minister House on Thursday, Pakistan was among the first few countries to dispatch medical and search and rescue teams to Nepal within hours after the calamitous earthquake hit Nepal on April 25.
Pakistan provided a 30-bed field hospital, a 50-member team of doctors, surgeons, paramedics and technicians, who treated 1200 affectees, and a 38-member Urban Search & Rescue Team, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, ground penetrating radars, concrete cutters, and other rescue equipment, the press release added.
According to the statement, on the instructions of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan further provided relief goods including 2546 tents, 23065 tarpaulin shelters, 15 community shelters, 1000 blankets, 12.5 tonnes medicines, 500 kilogrammes lentils, 500kg water (measured as weight of 1.5 litres bottles), 20 tonnes of rice, 3000 meals ready to eat (MREs) and 3 tonnes of food packs. The total cost of these goods has been reported to be around $2.6 million.
By this recent pledge, Pakistan has reassured the government and people of Nepal that in their hour of grief, the entire nation of Pakistan stands by them, the press release said.