Japan prepares for chopper dispatch to flood-hit Pakistan

Tokyo: Japan will send a helicopter
unit to flood-hit Pakistan on a humanitarian relief mission,
its foreign and defence ministries have said.

Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa instructed the
Ground Self-Defence Force to collect information, coordinate
with relevant entities and organise a troop unit to prepare
for the dispatch.

The move came after the Pakistani government made a
request for the Japanese helicopter unit and a Japanese
fact-finding mission inspected the country.

Tokyo has already announced emergency grant aid and
other relief items of up to USD 14.4 million to help Pakistan
grapple with the disaster.

The recent floods in Pakistan have left more than
1,700 people dead and 14 million displaced.

PTI