China's humanitarian assistance for flood victims reaches Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan -- China's aid for flood victims of Pakistan reached the country's southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday.

The humanitarian assistance consisting of 3,000 tents was handed over to Pakistan at a ceremony held at the Karachi airport.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong said that the Chinese government has expressed concern and sympathy to the people of Pakistan who have suffered from the disastrous floods.

"China and Pakistan are true friends and good brothers by sharing weal and woe. We have a fine tradition of helping each other and jointly coping with major natural disasters," he said.

Addressing the ceremony, Pakistan's Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan said that China provided a very timely and much-needed relief aid for the flood-affected people in Pakistan.

"On behalf of the government of Pakistan, we want to thank and appreciate our iron-brother China for coming to our aid in this hour of difficulty and trial as millions of Pakistanis have been displaced, their homes have been washed out and their livelihoods have been destroyed," he added.

In addition, Chinese enterprises in Pakistan last Thursday donated a humanitarian aid of over 15.5 million Pakistani rupees (about 71,340 U.S. dollars) for the country's flood victims at a ceremony held by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in Islamabad.

The total death toll in Pakistan from this season's monsoon rains since mid-June has risen to at least 1,136 along with 1,634 others injured, the NDMA said Tuesday.