PM Shehbaz arrives in quake-hit Turkiye on two-day visit

ANKARA: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has reached Turkiye to express solidarity with the Turkish people following the recent earthquake that killed over 40,000 people in regions of Ankara and Syria, ARY News reported on Thursday

According to details, Pakistan’s ambassador to Turkiye Dr Yousaf Junaid and senior officials of the Turkish government received PM Shehbaz Sharif upon his arrival.

Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi, and Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt Gen Inam Haider accompanied the prime minister.

Before departure, PM Shehbaz in a tweet said, “I am leaving for Turkiye with a message of unwavering solidarity and support for our Turkish brothers and sisters from the people and government of Pakistan.”

Natural disasters as the earthquake in Türkiye & Syria are beyond the capacity of any single government to handle. No country, howsoever resourceful, can deal with devastation of this magnitude. It is time the world came forward & extended support to the suffering humanity. https://t.co/L1PA8NoSY4

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) February 16, 2023

“True to the spirit of one nation living in two states, we consider their loss as ours,” the prime minister said.

During his two-day stay, the prime minister will meet President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan to personally convey heartfelt condolences on behalf of the entire Pakistani nation over the loss of lives and the widespread damage.

PM Shehbaz will reiterate Pakistan’s firm commitment to stand by the Turkish people during difficult times and to continue extending all possible support to the ongoing relief effort.

The prime minister will also visit earthquake-affected areas in southern Turkiye, and interact with the Pakistani search and rescue teams deployed in the area as well as survivors of the earthquake.

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in southern Turkiye, the prime minister had spoken to President Erdogan on February 6 and assured him of all possible assistance for the rescue and relief effort.

All available resources have been fully mobilized to help the Turkish people and the prime minister is personally overseeing the relief effort.

Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Turkiye, scheduled for February 7, was postponed at the last moment due to the ongoing relief and rescue operations following the devastating earthquake.

The earthquake

With chances of finding more survivors growing more remote, the toll in both countries from earthquake and major aftershocks rose above 40,000 and looked set to keep growing. It was the deadliest quake in Turkiye since 1939.

In a central district of one of the worst hit cities, Antakya in southern Turkey, business owners emptied their shops on Sunday to prevent merchandise from being stolen by looters.

Residents and aid workers who came from other cities cited worsening security conditions, with widespread accounts of businesses and collapsed homes being robbed.

Facing questions over his response to the earthquake as he prepares for a national election that is expected to be the toughest of his two decades in power, President Tayyip Erdogan has said the government will deal firmly with looters.

In Syria, the disaster hit hardest in the rebel-held northwest, leaving homeless yet again many people who had already been displaced several times by a decade-old civil war. The region has received little aid compared to government-held areas.

Relief fund

PM Shehbaz Sharif had ordered the establishment of a relief fund to support victims of the deadly earthquake in Turkiye that has claimed over 3,000 lives.

The confirmed death toll across the two countries has soared above 5,000 after a swarm of strong tremors near the Turkey-Syria border — the largest of which measured at a massive 7.8-magnitude.

In a tweet, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the cabinet will donate one month’s salary to the fund. She further said the premier has appealed to the philanthropists to extend help.