ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has sent 200 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka via sea route, hours after India denied permission to use its airspace, forcing a longer journey around the subcontinent.
At least 465 people have been killed as a result of last week’s cyclone, another 366 remain missing, and though the rain has stopped, recovery has just begun. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared a state of emergency and called for international support.
“Pakistan has dispatched 200 tons of humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka via sea cargo to support relief efforts following the devastating cyclone Ditwah,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that a send-off ceremony was held in Islamabad, attended by Bilal Azhar Kayani, Minister of State for Finance and Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Pakistan. “Pakistan stands in full solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka,” the statement concluded.
Earlier, Pakistan criticised India for continuing to block humanitarian assistance from Pakistan to Sri Lanka by making it time bound. “India continues to block humanitarian assistance from Pakistan to Sri Lanka. The special aircraft carrying Pakistan’s humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka continues to face a delay of over 60 hours, now awaiting flight clearance from India,” said the Foreign Office.
“The partial flight clearance issued by India last night, after 48 hours, was operationally impractical: time bound for just a few hours and without validity for the return flight, severely hindering this urgent relief mission for the brotherly people of Sri Lanka,” the MOFA said.
In a related development, officials in New Delhi said that authorities had granted clearance to the Pakistani aid aircraft within hours of the request being made. A spokesman for India’s foreign ministry, Randhir Jaiswal, rejected “the ridiculous statement” from Pakistan, calling it “yet another attempt of spreading anti-India misinformation”. “India remains committed to assisting the people of Sri Lanka in these challenging times through all available means,” Jaiswal said in a statement.
The Pakistan Navy appears to have had more luck in reaching the flooded areas and says it has managed to engage in rescue operations in Sri Lanka and evacuated a Sri Lankan family stranded on a rooftop for five days, moving them to safety.
According to the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, nearly 218,000 people have been moved into 1,275 shelters. Social media is carrying videos of a Z 9 helicopter from Pakistan Navy Ship ‘Saif’, which took part in the rescue operation as part of ongoing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts in the flooded Kotikawatta area on the suburbs of Colombo. “During the search and rescue operation, a stranded family of five days, including a seven month old infant, was safely recovered from a rooftop,” Pakistan Navy said in a statement. “Subsequently, the evacuated family was transported to a safe location in coordination with local authorities.”
