Layan Damanhouri
ISLAMABAD — An Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) humanitarian delegation recently visited Pakistan and highlighted the need for close cooperation between the OIC and Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The OIC delegation, headed by Fuad Al-Maznaee, met with NDMA officials in Islamabad to discuss relief work in the country and held a joint awards ceremony in Karachi with the UK-based Al-Khair Foundation.
The delegation met with Tasnim Aslam, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on March 27. During the meeting, Aslam expressed Pakistan’s gratitude for the OIC’s aid, saying it is greatly appreciated by the Pakistani people. The delegation also reassured her that the OIC would continue to operate its Islamabad office to coordinate relief work.
The delegation also met with NDMA head Maj. Gen. Asghar Nawaz, and attended a presentation on the NDMA’s activities to oversee disaster management following a major earthquake since its establishment in 2005. NDMA is Pakistan’s sole government body tasked with coordinating relief nationally.
The NDMA acknowledged the positive role that the OIC has played in Pakistan following disastrous floods that hit the country in 2010 and expressed a desire to continue to work closely with the OIC in coordinating relief efforts.
The delegation elaborated on the objectives of the OIC humanitarian mission currently underway in Pakistan and thanked the Pakistani Government and the NDMA for its support in completing two housing projects for people affected by floods. Some 227 homes, a school, a mosque and a health center have been completed so far as part of two projects in Dera Ghazi Khan and Dado.
The delegation also held a joint awards ceremony at the Ramada Hotel in Karachi in conjunction with Al-Khair Foundation, a UK-based NGO that has been delivering projects in partnership with the OIC. Mufti Faroaz-ul Din, advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh, was chief guest at the event, which was also attended by community leaders and flood victims.
Mufti Faroaz-ul D praised the proactive role played by the OIC in defending the Muslim Ummah in the international arena and thanked, on behalf of the chief minister of Sindh, the OIC for carrying out relief projects. Al-Maznaee, in turn, thanked the Pakistani government and the NDMA for supporting the OIC in carrying out relief work in the country, and also thanked the OIC’s partners for helping to deliver projects.
