Thaindian News

Islamabad, Oct 7 (IANS) Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Liu Jian met Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar Friday and told her that the Chinese government would provide $5 million in cash to the flood-hit people in the country, the foreign ministry said.

Pakistani officials said that nearly 7 million people have been affected by floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in the southern parts of the country in August and September. Crops on millions of acres of land have been washed away, reported Xinhua.

China has already donated $4.7 million for flood victims, according to a statement from Pakistan’s foreign ministry.

The Chinese side has also supplied 7,000 tents recently, the statement said.

Khar said she appreciated China’s timely assistance and that it is testimony to the time-tested friendship between the two countries.

Khar and Liu also exchanged views on the regional and international situation and matters of mutual concern, the statement said.

China was the first to announce assistance for flood-hit Pakistanis days before Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari launched an international appeal for aid.

Last month, United Nations (UN) and the Pakistani government formally appealed for $344 million in foreign donations to urgently help more than seven million people impacted by a second year of catastrophic floods.

Over 400,000 people are still living in temporary relief camps, with 1.35 million homes affected by the floods, the country’s disaster management agency said. Many more have no shelter.

Hundreds of thousands of families needed help to recover from lost livestock or farming income, while only one-quarter of Sindh’s population have access to markets, according to the UN.