Tazeen Akhtar
Ambassador of Turkiye Dr Mehmet Pacaci has shared the details of the destructive earthquake in his country and the damage it caused to lives , properties and infrastructure. He expressed strong resolve that Turkiye will overcome this disaster with the invaluable support of the friend countries like Pakistan. He thanked people and government of Pakistan who stood shoulder to shoulder with Turkiye brothers to support the victims and helped to provide relief to the people of the affected territories. He was addressing to a press conference at the embassy.
Ambassador said that magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes on Feb 6 and 7, centered in the Kahramanmaraş province, jolted the southern Türkiye, which affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces including Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Şanlıurfa and Elazığ.
It is one of the biggest earthquake-disaster in the last century. Many buildings collapsed and the damage is huge.These strong earthquakes also affected many countries nearby Türkiye,
Syria and Lebanon. Yesterday evening two major earthquakes hit Hatay province again with the magnitude of 6,4 and 5,8, resulting in new losses and injuries.Up to this date, at least 41 thousand people lost their lives and 105 thousand people injured because of these massive earthquakes.
More than 250 thousand search and rescue personnel are currently on the field, whose work is coordinated by Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidebcy-AFAD.
In addition to those staff of AFAD on the ground, more three thousand foreign personnel from different parts of the world are exerting their efforts to save lives.
In the very beginning of the earthquake-disaster, Türkiye has called for international help. 102 countries offered assistance, 59 countries were/areon the ground for search and rescue nearly with five thousand staff.
The Government of Pakistan along with our Pakistani brothers and sisters, was among the very first responders to earthquake disaster. Prime Minister Sharif got in touch with us and with our authorities in the very beginning of the disaster. H.E. Prime Minister and H.E. Foreign Minister H.E. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, along with other esteemed Federal Ministers visited our Embassy to express their condolences.
The very recent visit of H.E. PM to Türkiye, to Adıyaman, one of the most affected province from the earthquake, also means a lot for the Turkish people. Prime Minister Sharif announced that every possible support and aid will be provided to Türkiye and exert every effort to heal the wounds of the earthquake-affected areas.
The Government opened an account – Relief Fund- for financial aids. H.E. PM also instructed National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan to coordinate all in-kind aids provided by Pakistan with our authorities.
NDMA has sent nearly four thousand winterized tents, more than eight thousand blankets to Türkiye since the first day of the disaster, in accordance with the needs of the earthquake-affected areas, all coordinated with our Embassy.
Nearly three thousand winterized tents and 25 thousand blankets are on the way to Türkiye by road. They are all planned to be arrived in Türkiye.
Hatay, one of the most affected province, on February 23. This week and next week more than four thousand winterized tents will be sent to Türkiye with chartered cargo flights. Upon the instruction of H.E. Prime Minister, in addition the airway and road way, a maritime bridge will also be established. A ship of Pakistani navy will start trip from Karachi port in the first week of March and will arrive to Türkiye-Mersin Port in thirteen days. This ship will be carrying three thousand five hundred tents.
Pakistan, being the leading tent producing country in the world, with all its manufacturers will be providing most of the needed winterised tents of Türkiye, inshallah. We should also put a special emphasis on the search and rescue teams of Pakistan. The USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) teams of 84 staff, including army personnel and 1122 rescue teams, were dispatched to Türkiye in the first day of the disaster. Those were amongst the very first
USAR teams to reach the earthquake-affected areas. They have saved many lives, 28 people alive from rubbles, including 10 years-old boy after 137 hours.
Moreover, for relief operations of the international organizations and NGOs, like United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization of Migration (IOM) and International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), Pakistan have been one of the important global centers, as well. In these relief operations carried out in coordination with
our Consulate Generals in Karachi and Lahore, NDMA has also been the main supporting institution. We are receiving hundreds of support messages and calls from also all provinces and walks of Pakistani society. Pakistani NGO’s, including Pakistan Red Crescent and universities are also in contact with our Embassy and with our consulate-generals. They have been and still are providing in-kind assistance like medicines, food, medical equipment etc. to Türkiye. We should thank them once again in here.
“We also would like to extend our gratitude to our beautiful Pakistani brothers &sisters for their prayers and good wishes for the recovery of our country. We feel their prayers deep in our heart. We believe that we will overcome this disaster with their invaluable support, Ambassador concluded.
