Beijing: The Chinese military will send a
50-member medical team to Pakistan for a humanitarian relief
mission in the country's flood-hit areas, where around seven
million people have been affected, the Defence Ministry here
said on Wednesday.
The medical team of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
(PLA) is scheduled to leave tomorrow for a ten-day relief
operation, the ministry said in a statement.
The team will head to the country's most devastated areas
to assist Pakistan's armed forces by providing medical rescue
services for victims and conducting disease prevention work,
it said.
Around seven million people have been affected by floods
triggered by heavy monsoon rains in southern parts of Pakistan
in August and September.
The Chinese government had previously donated emergency
humanitarian aid worth USD 4.7 million to Pakistan in
September. The assistance, which largely consisted of 7000
tents and a total of nine aircraft sorties, was delivered in
two batches.
During a meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina
Rabbani Khar earlier this month, Chinese Ambassador to
Islamabad Liu Jian said his government will also provide USD 5
million in cash to the flood-hit country.
Last year's floods were the worst in Pakistan's history
and China had provided a total of USD 18.8 million worth of
humanitarian supplies to Pakistan and sent a rescue team to
provide medical services to flood victims.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 14:41