Dubai: Various groups active within the Pakistani community in the UAE have launched campaigns to collect relief materials for the internally displaced persons who have fled the military operation against Taliban insurgents in the Swat region.
"We have launched [a] campaign for relief aid for more than 1.2 million displaced people and request the community to come forward and help them," Khursheed Ahmad Junejo, ambassador of Pakistan to the UAE, told Gulf News.
The envoy said a huge consignment of relief goods pledged by the Shaikh Khalifa Foundation is expected to reach camps for the displaced today. Observing that the UAE was the first country to join relief efforts in Pakistan, he thanked the government for its support.
Senator Abdul Nabi Bangash, who is also president of the United Forum and the Pakhtoon Welfare Organisation, Dubai, said the groups had raised over Dh200,000 for the cause and were coordinating with the Pakistan Business Council to launch a comprehensive campaign .
Riaz Farooq, president of the Pakistan Association in Dubai said he set up the relief camp at the association. "We will soon start sending consignments of relief goods to Pakistan. We are also forming our teams who will go to Pakistan to distribute relief items," he added.
Chipping in: You too can help
Badly needed items include food, summer clothing, tents, mosquito nets, sanitary kits and water. The Pakistan Association in Dubai can be reached at 043373632 and the Pakhtoon Welfare Organisation can be reached at 0506541268.
