BEIJING: China said on Wednesday that it will provide another batch of emergency humanitarian supplies to flood-hit Pakistan, besides USD 300,000 cash assistance to the country's Red Crescent Society to help the flood victims.
Floods triggered by the monsoon rains have killed at least 830 people in Pakistan and destroyed properties and crops worth billions of rupees since July.
In response to a media query, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China has taken note of the severe floods raging across Pakistan and the heavy casualties and loss of property that ensued, and expressed sincere condolences to the victims and sympathy to the bereaved families, the injured and the affected people.
Under the social and livelihood cooperation framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), China has provided 4,000 tents, 50,000 blankets and 50,000 pieces of waterproof canvas, which have been delivered to the frontlines of disaster relief in Pakistan, the spokesperson noted.
The Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has expressed sympathy to Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari over the disaster.
Considering the current situation, China has decided to provide another batch of emergency humanitarian supplies, including 25,000 tents and other supplies in dire need, the spokesperson said, adding that the Red Cross Society of China will provide USD 300,000 in emergency cash assistance to the Pakistan Red Crescent Society.
China will continue to promote bilateral cooperation in disaster prevention and mitigation and against climate change, the spokesperson said.
Cash-strapped Pakistan government on Tuesday decided to seek international help to undertake relief and rehabilitation efforts in parts of the country inundated by devastating floods that has claimed over 800 lives and left thousands homeless.
The seasonal rains continue to wreak havoc, especially in Balochistan and Sindh province, the worst hit areas in Pakistan.
The incessant downpour has also impacted Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and at least three regions of Punjab.
Gilgit-Baltistan has also reported rains and flood-related losses.