UPDATE - Pakistan to send rescue, medical teams to earthquake-hit Türkiye

UPDATES WITH DETAILS OF RESCUE TEAM, AID, ADDS STATEMENT FROM FOREIGN MINISTRY; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan Monday announced it is sending rescue teams along with a plane carrying relief goods to Türkiye to help with the ongoing rescue operations in the quake-hit region.

"Teams comprising doctors, paramedics and rescue workers are being sent to Türkiye today to help with the ongoing rescue efforts. A plane carrying medicines and other essential relief goods is also being dispatched soon," Sharif said on Twitter minutes after his phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Sharif called Erdogan to convey condolences and offer all possible assistance from Pakistan in the wake of two massive deadly earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye on Monday.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Sharif said the Pakistani government and people stand alongside Türkiye at this trying hour.

He said Islamabad will lend all possible assistance to Ankara to ride over the damage caused by the earthquakes.

Sharif also offered condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the early recovery of the injured.

Erdogan thanked the government and the people of Pakistan for their support and solidarity with the Turkish nation, the statement added.

- Rescue teams to leave soon for Türkiye

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that search and rescue teams with equipment and medical supplies will be sent to Türkiye as soon as possible to support the ongoing relief and rescue operations.

The announcement was made by Zardari during a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday.

“Spoke with my brother Mevlut Cavusoglu in solidarity and to offer condolences for the earthquake. Offered assistance and support in anyway we can. Search and rescue teams with equipment and medical supplies will leave as soon as possible,” he tweeted.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said the National Disaster Management Authority is "mobilizing all available resources including winterized tents, blankets and other critical life-saving supplies" for Türkiye.

"Urban search and rescue teams trained to operate in disaster hit areas are being dispatched with their equipment and medicines," it said in a statement, adding the Pakistani diplomatic mission in Ankara "remains in constant touch with the relevant Turkish authorities to identify any additional requirement for the earthquake-affected areas."

"Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with the brotherly people of Türkiye in the wake of this unprecedented natural calamity. Beyond the immediate relief effort, we will continue to work with Türkiye in the post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction phases," the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the government of southern Sindh province approved the delivery of some 100,000 tents for the earthquake victims in Türkiye.

Announcing the move, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah said the government and the people of Türkiye helped the people of Sindh during the massive floods last year, which will always be remembered.

The provincial Punjab government will send a 50-member rescue team to Türkiye, acting Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi told Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Mehmet Pacaci during a meeting.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani parliament’s upper house, the Senate, unanimously passed a resolution, offering condolences over human and infrastructure losses in the earthquakes, and expressing solidarity with Türkiye. The resolution also expressed grief and sorrow over losses in Syria.