Pakistan left red-faced again, repacks relief material received from Turkey during 2022 Floods and ships them back to quake-hit nation

Islamabad, Feb 18: The Pakistan government was left red-faced after it was reported that Turkey found the relief materials they sent to Pakistan amid the devastating floods in June 2022 were shipped back to them following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Turkey and Syria on February 6.

 

Turkey came to know after the authorities in Pakistan changed the box outside but forgot to change the boxes inside. The message inside the box read that these materials were sent by the people of Turkey to the people of Pakistan to help them fight the devastating effects of the floods, while the boxes outside carried the message that these materials are sent by the people of Pakistan to help cope with the earthquake.

 

 

The consulate general raised the matter before the Pakistan External Affairs Ministry. The matter was also discussed by local news media outlets who expressed their disappointment with the government over the incident.

 

Earlier, Pakistan was left red-faced when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was told to postpone his visit to the earthquake-hit nation. Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif and foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari wanted to visit Turkey two days after the earthquake struck but were asked to postpone their visit as the government was busy with rescue and relief operations.

 

The move was also criticised by the people of Pakistan since they did not approve of a delegation visiting Turkey on taxpayer money at a time when the nation was unable to import essential items due to an ongoing economic crisis.

 

However, Sharif made the visit on Friday and met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and conveyed his nation’s “heartfelt condolences” over the damage and loss of precious lives due to the earthquake.

 

The death toll due to the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6 has now crossed 44,000.