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Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmud Kasuri announced Sunday that Islamabad will dispatch emergency aid for the war-affected Iraqi people on humanitarian grounds.
"The first shipment of rice, blankets, medicines, surgical equipment and other necessary items will be sent to Iraq after security clearance from Jordan and Turkey," Kasuri said while addressing "Meet the Press" program of Lahore Press Club, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.
In this regard, Kasuri stressed, the Pakistani government has already been in touch with the United States, Britain, Kuwait, the United Nations and the International Red Cross authorities.
Kasuri said with a view to providing maximum assistance to the Iraqi people, the government has also decided to create "Iraqi Fund" for collecting kind and cash for the distressed people in the country.
In a 55-minute address to the press, Kasuri said that a 23-member parliamentarian team of doctors has also offered their medical services for the Iraqi people purely on humanitarian basis.
Kasuri pointed out that Pakistan has adopted a multi-dimensional approach on the Iraq issue and clarified that the country adheres to its principled stand from the very first day.
"We have never said that we will support a war on Iraq," Kasuri said while defending Pakistan's policies on the conflict.
Kasuri clarified that Pakistan is not in a list of the countries which are denied participation in the national reconstruction of Iraq after the US-led war.
Referring to the role of the United Nations in the war, Kasuri said its moral authority has enhanced currently and the international body is still the best guarantee for ensuring global peace and stability.
(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2003)
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