Ankara dispatches two ministers to Pakistan for aid after flood disaster

The Turkish government is dispatching two ministers to Pakistan for an on-site inspection to further coordinate Türkiye's humanitarian assistance to the flood-hit country that claimed the lives of hundreds of people.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum will go to Pakistan upon the instruction of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The two ministers will be accompanied by a large delegation, which will include Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) President Yunus Sezer, Housing Management Authority (TOKİ) head Ömer Bulut and representatives of the civil society.

The ministers and the delegation will visit the areas mostly hit by the flood disaster and will hold talks with the government officials and local authorities in Pakistan. They will also observe the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the works of civil society in the field to help local Pakistani people.

Türkiye had sent six planes and a train full of humanitarian aid to Pakistan in the past days and is planning to increase its deliveries in line with the observation of the Turkish delegation dispatched to Pakistan.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif thanked Erdoğan for Türkiye's help to Pakistan in a statement on Aug. 31. The Turkish senior officials communicated with their counterparts to express the condolences of the people of Türkiye. The two countries have very close ties.

Pakistan has been heavily hit by weeklong monsoon rains that have caused devastating floods, leaving millions homeless, destroying infrastructure, roads and bridges and submerging almost one-third of the country.

More than 1,000 people died, while thousands were injured and went missing....