Islamabad, May 29: Pakistan today dispatched 50,000 dollars worth of medicine and equipment China to help fight the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus. China is the world's worst-hit country from SARS, reporting more than 5,300 infections and nearly 325 deaths. Chinese ambassador Zhang Chunxiang saw off a plane carrying the aid from the Pakistan Airforce base outside Islamabad.

Zhang thanked Islamabad for its support, saying he was glad that Pakistan remained free of SARS, a Pneumonia like disease.

Fears in Pakistan that its under-resourced health system would be unable to cope with SARS infections have kept its seasonal border with China closed.


The crossing at Khunjerab Pass, between northern Pakistan and China's Xinjiang province, normally opens May 1 each year for the summer and autumn.


But Pakistan has postponed the opening indefinitely, with health officials saying earlier this week that detection equipment and isolation facilities at the border post were still not adequate.

Worldwide 746 people have died from SARS and more than 8,000 people are infected. Bureau Report