Pakistan sends relief team and aid to Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwah

A Pakistan Air Force C-130 aircraft carrying relief supplies and an elite search and rescue team arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday evening (December 3) at 6:45 PM.

The consignment was formally received by Deputy Minister Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku and handed over by the High Commissioner of Pakistan in Colombo.

The relief effort comes after Cyclone Ditwah caused widespread damage in Sri Lanka. The Government of Pakistan had announced a major mobilisation of aid to help the affected communities.

According to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), a 47-member specialised Pakistan Army search and rescue unit was dispatched along with 6.5 tonnes of essential equipment earlier on the same day, following directives from Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.

The shipment includes family tents, blankets, quilts, life jackets, inflatable boats, de-watering pumps, lamps, mats, mosquito nets, infant dry milk, ready-to-eat food, and essential medicines. NDMA also confirmed that Pakistan Navy ships and helicopters are already involved in relief operations in Sri Lanka.

The dispatch ceremony in Islamabad was attended by Pakistan’s Federal Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik, HI (M), and the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan, Rear Admiral Fred Senevirathne (Rtd).

Pakistan expanded its support following talks between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. NDMA has also arranged additional relief shipments through SriLankan Airlines operating between Colombo and Lahore.

Under special directives from the Prime Minister, Pakistan had already sent 200 tonnes of relief supplies by sea on December 2, and the NDMA is preparing to send temporary bridges from the Pakistan Army to help restore access in heavily affected areas.

Pakistan reaffirmed its commitment to continue providing all possible assistance to Sri Lanka as part of its long-standing humanitarian support and regional solidarity.