Bilawal thanks Turkish people, government for flood aid
LONDON, Oct 11 (APP)- Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed gratitude to the government and people of Turkey for timely and generous assistance to the flood victims in Pakistan .Speaking as the chief guest of a fund raiser dinner for Pakistan flood victims hosted by Ambassador of Turkey to the UK Unal Cevikoz and Mrs Cevikoz at their residence at the weekend, he said: “We are grateful to the brotherly Turkish Government and its people for their urgent assistance to the flood victims in Pakistan. We know in our hour of distress people and the Turkish government are always by our side.” Prominent among those who attended the event were Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan, and leading Turkish business personalities based in London.
The PPP Chairman highlighted the significance of valuable help from Turkey saying that “Turkey’s timely assistance in kind and cash has been enormous and it is continuing. It is not a one-time affair. For this act of generosity and brotherhood people and government of Pakistan shall remain grateful to the people and the government of Turkey.”
Giving an overview of the magnitude of disaster, Bilawal said that the Government of Pakistan and its functionaries have put all their resources towards relief activities, rehabilitation and for mobilizing the nation and Pakistanis abroad to contribute in the mammoth task of rebuilding the destroyed regions.
“However, given the scale of devastation the resources required for the mitigation is beyond the capacity of even the mightiest of the countries.”
In his welcome address , the Turkish Ambassador highlighted the devastations caused by the floods in Pakistan and expressed solidarity with its people. He said that it has emotionally traumatized the people and the Turkish government and its response to go into gigantic relief help was natural and it lost no time to rush to the help of a time tested friend.
He informed that the 8000 pounds raised at the dinner was token of overall assistance extended to Pakistan. He informed that the amount would be sent to Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for onward transmission to government of Pakistan.
Leading Turkish pianist Ms Lara Omeroglu entertained the gathering with her enthralling performance.
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Turkish prime Minister Visits Flood-Hit Multan
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited flood-hit Multan district in Pakistan on Wednesday.
Erdogan, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Turkish State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek, National Education Minister Nimet Cubukcu, Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim and several other officials visited Multan.
Erdogan earlier was received by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and had meetings with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Gilani.
Turkish prime Minister pledges lasting support for flood-hit Pakistan.
Turkey is and will be in Pakistan to offer constant support to strengthen this friendly country’s infrastructure — but not only to help during times of disaster — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said yesterday during an official visit to the flood-stricken Pakistan.
Erdoğan first landed in the Pakistani capital city of Islamabad on Wednesday morning to have talks with President Asif Ali Zardari. Accompanied by several ministers of his Cabinet, Erdoğan later flew to Multan, a city in Punjab province.
His Pakistani counterpart, Yousaf Raza Gilani, joined him as Erdoğan participated in a ceremony to hand over 1,600 prefabricated houses built by the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay). The houses, called “Mevlana Evleri” (Mevlana Houses), are named after world-famous Muslim poet Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi.
The floods, which began in late July, left more than 10 million people homeless and affected 20 million more. They devastated an economy that was already fragile before the floods, one of the country’s worst natural disasters, struck.
“History unites us. We have a joint culture and joint values. We have marched together along centuries for the sake of this culture and these values. We are now here to fulfill our duty as required by the responsibility that rests on our shoulders,” Erdoğan said in a speech delivered at the ceremony.
According to figures released by the Pakistani Ministry of Finance on Wednesday, Pakistan’s recent floods inflicted $9.5 billion in damage to property, crops and infrastructure.
Erdoğan, meanwhile, called on the Pakistani people to stand united and not let those who would like to see a weaker Pakistan prevail.
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There isn’t even a jyala to at least comment and commend the dear chairboy (read chairman)??