Children play in puddles of water on a street in a slum area on the outskirts of Islamabad on Wednesday. AFP

Upon the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and with the support of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the monitoring of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and President of the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, Emirati field teams began rescuing 75,000 people affected by floods in southern Pakistan.

The number of those affected is expected to rise to 100,000.

Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Al Zaabi, UAE Ambassador to Pakistan, accompanied by Dr. Salim Ali Al Dhanhani, UAE Consul-General in Karachi, visited Sindh province, where they met with Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister of Sindh province.

During the visit, Al Zaabi expressed to Shah his most sincere condolences for the flood victims.

Following his meetings with local officials, Al Zaabi visited some of the areas affected by flooding and participated with Shah in distributing Phase-1 of an urgent aid campaign comprising of medicines, tents, blankets and food. The first day of aid distribution benefitted more than 12,000 people, with the campaign to continue for an entire month.

In his speech delivered in the presence of Sindh Province Governor Imran Ismail during the distribution of urgent relief aid, Al Zaabi said that the humanitarian support provided to the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan at the direction of the UAE’s leadership is part of the campaign’s efforts to rescue people and improve their living conditions.

Al Zaabi and Ismail also discussed ways of enhancing their ties in areas of mutual concern for both countries, most notably economic. Al Zaabi then briefed Ismail about available opportunities and the investment environment in the UAE, stressing that there are many opportunities for exchanging visits and organising commercial events, conferences and workshops.

During the meeting, Al Zaabi praised the deep overall relations between the UAE and Pakistan, whose foundations were established by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

The chief minister of Sindh praised the bilateral ties between the two countries and stressed the importance of reinforcing them in all economic, commercial and development aid areas.

WAM