Pakistan Airline offers free transportation

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is offering free transportation for relief goods to be sent to the country's flood victims, said Pakistan's High Commissioner, Masood Khalid. He said the country was in need of relief goods such as blankets, mosquito nets, mosquito repellent, jerrycans, water coolers, plastic sheets, buckets, hygiene and sanitation tablets, water purification tablets (aqua-tabs), water purification units and mineral water bottles. He called on the Pakistani community, as well as, non-governmental organisations and civil society organisations in Malaysia to come forward and contribute in cash or kind to the relief efforts for those affected by the floods in Pakistan. "Due to the enormity of the disaster and limited resources available with the government of Pakistan, the UN Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) had also launched a flash appeal, based on their preliminary assessment, of US$357 million," he told a press conference, here. Meanwhile, the embassy's flood relief Affin Bank's account launched a few days ago has begun to get feedback from the public, he added. He said so far, as many as 352 people had been killed by the floods which had ravaged all 23 districts of Sindh and the flood water was now heading towards Balochistan. "According to latest information, the floods in the Sindh province have caused damage to an area of 7.9 million acres (3.2 million hectares), destroying most of the crops while the estimated number of flood-affected people in Sindh as of today stands at eight million," he added.