December 04, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka received a significant boost to its disaster-relief efforts yesterday (03) evening as a Pakistan Air Force C-130 transport aircraft touched down in Colombo carrying vital supplies and a specialist search-and-rescue unit.
The consignment was formally handed over by Pakistan’s High Commissioner and accepted on behalf of the government by Deputy Minister Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku.
The delivery forms part of a wider emergency mobilisation launched by Islamabad in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, which caused extensive destruction across several districts in Sri Lanka. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority confirmed that a 47-member expert rescue team from the Pakistan Army, supported by 6.5 tonnes of technical equipment, was flown out earlier on the instructions of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
The aid package is substantial and wide-ranging, including tents for displaced families, warm bedding, life jackets, inflatable boats, pumping equipment for flood-hit zones, lanterns, ground mats, mosquito nets, essential medicines, dry infant formula and ready-to-eat food packs. Pakistani naval vessels and helicopters are also reported to be contributing to relief missions already under way in Sri Lankan waters and coastal regions.
A formal send-off ceremony was held in Islamabad, attended by Pakistan’s Federal Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik, and Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Pakistan, Rear Admiral Fred Senevirathne (Rtd). Their presence underscored the close cooperation between the two nations, which intensified following recent discussions between Prime Minister Sharif and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
In addition to the airlift, NDMA has arranged further consignments on SriLankan Airlines flights operating between Lahore and Colombo. Under special orders from the Prime Minister, Pakistan also dispatched 200 tonnes of relief goods by sea yesterday, and preparations are under way to send temporary modular bridges from the Pakistan Army to help reconnect isolated communities.
Pakistan has emphasised that it will continue providing whatever assistance is required, reaffirming its longstanding commitment to humanitarian support and regional solidarity during times of crisis.
