Azernews.Az

RIYADH – King of Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud has called on the country’s citizens and expatriates to contribute to a fundraising campaign aiming to aid victims of the devastating floods in Pakistan.

All companies and organizations operating in Saudi Arabia are also requested to participate in the fundraiser, the embassy of Saudi Arabia told AssA-Irada.

King Abdullah’s appeal, issued on Monday, has already been joined by thousands of people, the embassy said. The kingdom has requested people to donate generously and urgently based on noble, humanitarian and Islamic values.

Saudi Arabia continues to deliver humanitarians aid to Pakistan via planes. So far, the Saudi planes have implemented 22 flights to Pakistani cities of Quetta, Peshawar, Lahore and Multan, delivering hundreds of tons of food and medical supplies, tents, clothes and basic items.

The King has made donations worth 300 million rials ($80 million) on behalf of the Saudi people, the Saudi Charitable Campaign prepared 200 tons of food for shipment to the flood-hit regions within the charity campaign which is underway in the country to collect donations for Pakistan.

The floods have caused massive damage to the life, property and infrastructure of the country. Approximately 2,000 people have died, thousands have been injured, around 5,000 villages have been swept away with the floods and about 14 million people have been affected and have become homeless. The United Nations has declared this calamity worse than the 2004 tsunami and the recent earthquakes in the Americas.

The exact figures of this colossal loss are yet to be determined. However, the preliminary estimates of damage to infrastructure amounts to billions of dollars.

Azerbaijan has donated $1 million in aid for the flood-affected people.