Islamabad_ Pakistan has sent an urban search and rescue team to Sri Lanka where Cyclone Ditwah has caused severe flooding and landslides, claiming more than 400 lives. A Pakistan Air Force C-130 aircraft carrying a 47-member team and 6.5 tons of essential equipment departed on Wednesday to support ongoing rescue operations in severe cyclone hit areas.
At a departure ceremony in Islamabad, NDMA Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik said the team was being sent on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir who had ordered full support for Sri Lanka in these testing times. He said Pakistan had been preparing assistance since November 28 and a Pakistan Navy ship in the area was immediately tasked with helping evacuate stranded families.
Experts describe Cyclone Ditwah as unprecedented, noting that while hurricane activity had decreased in the South Pacific but it had intensified in the southern Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
Additionally, NDMA Chairman said the team being dispatched was an experienced military search and rescue unit that would remain in the field as long as required. He added that 200 tons of relief cargo had already been sent from Karachi and that Pakistan stood ready to provide more aid to its South Asian partner.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry also expressed condolences on behalf of Pakistan, saying additional consignments would be sent from Lahore and Karachi. He assured Sri Lanka’s ambassador that Pakistan would do everything possible to help evacuate families stranded in the cyclone.
Moreover, India is weaponizing its airspace to halt relief operation in Sri Lanka. Officials said C-130 planes loaded with field hospitals, sniffer dogs and supplies had remained grounded for two days due to Indian “delaying tactics.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz later chaired a meeting to review the relief effort, saying Pakistan would continue supporting Sri Lanka through both rescue and rehabilitation phases.
