Saudi Arabia raised SR77 million in aid on the first day of a national campaign for flood-striken Pakistan, the Saudi Press Agency said Tuesday. The Cabinet Monday night reaffirmed its plan to assist the people of flood-ravaged Pakistan and called on the Kingdom's residents and citizens to donate as much as they can to relief efforts during the holy month of Ramadan. The popular campaign ordered by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to help flood victims in Pakistan started Monday evening after Taraweeh prayers with a SR20 million donation by the King; SR10 million by Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General; and SR5 million by Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior. Under the supervision of Prince Naif, a media campaign started with the theme: “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Campaign for the Relief of the Fraternal People of Pakistan”. Citizens and expatriates have been quick to make donations. Pakistan's Minister of Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira thanked the King for the initiative to help the people of Pakistan. Saudi Arabia has always stood by Pakistan in difficult times, he said at a press conference in Islamabad, adding that the Kingdom is constantly sending relief goods for the flood affected people. Donors can write a check or make a cash deposit to National Commercial Bank (NCB) account number SA8710000020162400000107. This can be done by phone, through NCB ATMs or through the bank's website. The Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has also launched a campaign to raise donations for the aid of Pakistan's people by designating the number 5565 for receiving clients' blank text messages. Each message sender will be donating SR10. All donations will be immediately handed over to the Ministry of Interior, which is supervising the donations campaign. Described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today, the three-week disaster has affected 20 million people, and has destroyed crops, infrastructure, towns and villages, according to the Pakistani government. The United Nations warned Tuesday of a “second wave of death” in Pakistan while aid agencies struggled to raise money to help the 20 million people hit by the nation's worst-ever natural disaster. Fresh rains have threatened further anguish for the millions affected by three weeks of flooding that has engulfed about one quarter of the country, including its rich agricultural heartland. The UN last week launched an immediate appeal for $460 million to cover the next 90 days and UN chief Ban Ki-moon visited Pakistan at the weekend, calling on the world to quicken its aid pledges. – SG/Agencies Zamir Akram, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said the country had received more immediate multilateral relief aid through the UN and direct bilateral aid totalling about $301 million (235 million euros). The World Bank agreed to give Islamabad a $900-million loan, warning that the disaster's impact on the economy was expected to be “huge.” Afghanistan donated a million dollars and Turkey doubled its contribution to $10 million, beginning to transport 140 tonnes of relief supplies. The United States has pledged $87 million in cash, air assets and relief goods, and currently operates 18 helicopters on relief sorties in Pakistan.
