Asia

Asia

Iran vows 10 more camps in Pakistan

11 September 2010 20:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society says the IRCS is ready to set up at least ten more relief camps to shelter people in the flood-stricken areas of Pakistan, APA reports quoting presstv.ir website.

The announcement came on Saturday, after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Friday said the measures taken to aid the people of Pakistan were insufficient, urging all Muslims to help their brothers in Pakistan.

â€œSince the first days of flooding in Pakistan, the Red Crescent Society has dispatched aid for the flood-stricken people of Pakistan in 13 aid packages and has set up three relief camps in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan Provinces,â€ Mehr News Agency quoted Faqih as saying.

Faqih said the IRCS has sent almost 1,000 tons of aid in the form of food and medicine as well as medical workers and doctors to Pakistan.

He added that Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks has prompted the IRCS to set up at least 10 more relief camps after receiving approval from Pakistani officials.

However, Mojtaba Akbari, an official with the IRCS had earlier said that Iran has established five camps in the Pakistani province of Sindh, and plans to set up at least 15 more relief camps in the country.

The latest official figures show the flooding, which is the worst-ever natural disaster to hit Pakistan, has affected some 17 million people and killed over 1,760 others.

Relief agencies warn that aid is too slow to arrive for millions without clean water, food and homes in the flood-hit regions of Pakistan.

The international community has pleaded for a boost in global relief efforts to help some 800,000 Pakistanis stranded in areas only accessible by air.