ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal cabinet has decided to allocate about Rs60 million to send emergency relief to Ukraine as an expression of solidarity with its people, said the local media on Monday.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine began last month and triggered the worst refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War. It also provoked a great deal of outrage across the world and led to heavy sanctions against Moscow by Western nations.
Pakistan found itself in a precarious situation since the beginning of the war in the Eastern European country since Prime Minister Imran Khan was visiting Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin the day he ordered his forces to invade Ukraine from the north, east and south.
Pakistan was also one of the few countries in the world that did not condemn Russia for initiating the conflict since its government is striving to consolidate strategic relations with Kremlin.
“In an apparent balancing act, Pakistan will send emergency aid to Ukraine as a message of solidarity to the war-stricken people,” Dawn said in a news report. “A decision to this effect was taken by the federal cabinet through circulation of an emergency summary for allocation of about Rs60 million along with two aircraft to deliver aid goods in Poland.”
Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently said the country had adopted a balanced approach toward the war in Ukraine while calling it a sensitive issue.
He added that the government would send humanitarian assistance to Ukraine while demanding an end to the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
According to the local media, Pakistan will be sending urgently needed items identified by the Ukrainian embassy in Islamabad through Poland.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is working on the project to dispatch relief goods with the help of the foreign ministry on the directives of the prime minister.
Dawn reported these relief items include tents, blankets, sleeping bags, medicines and generators etc.
