Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif leaves for Turkey to express solidarity following the devastating earthquake.
A devastating earthquake has killed more than 40,000 people in Turkey and Syria. Shehbaz Sharif left for Turkey on Thursday. “I am leaving for Türkiye with a message of unwavering solidarity and support for our Turkish brothers and sisters from the people and government of Pakistan,” the prime minister said in a tweet.
In his tweet, he added that Pakistan considers the loss of Turkey as its own loss. “True to the spirit of one nation living in two states, we consider their loss as ours,” added PM Sharif.
“Natural disasters such as the earthquake in Türkiye & Syria are beyond the capacity of any single government to handle. No country, howsoever resourceful, can deal with a devastation of this magnitude. It is time the world came forward & extended support to the suffering humanity,” he said in another tweet.
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The visit to Turkey was delayed by a week. Shehbaz Sharif was expected to visit Turkey on February 7. The trip was delayed due to bad weather and ongoing relief and rescue operations. Turkish leadership was engaged in the relief and rescue operations.
Natural disasters as the earthquake in Türkiye & Syria are beyond the capacity of any single government to handle. No country, howsoever resourceful, can deal with devastation of this magnitude. It is time the world came forward & extended support to the suffering humanity. https://t.co/L1PA8NoSY4
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) February 16, 2023
On Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto visited the Turkish Embassy in Islamabad and expressed condolence. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayyaz Sadiq, Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarrar, SAPM Attaullah Tarrar, and SAPM Tariq Fatemi were also part of the official visit to the Turkish Embassy.
Pakistani rescue workers are at the forefront of rescuing people in quake-hit areas in Turkey and Syria. The government of Pakistan has also sent relief aid to Turkey. In a recent video gone viral on social media, Pakistani rescuers were seen going deep down, risking their lives, to rescue a young boy from under the rubble in Turkey.