Turkey sends aid to Pakistan amid coronavirus crisis

Aid directed toward downtrodden sections of society

ISLAMABAD: Turkey's state-run aid agency on Wednesday distributed food packages to 600 families in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

The ongoing lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus has deprived a large number of daily wage workers of their source of income.



Some 300 food ration bags were distributed in the city of Lahore and as many were handed out in Mardan, said a statement by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

In Mardan, Pakistani lawmaker Shaheen Saifullah distributed the aid among the parents of deaf and mute children.

The children of
Center for Speech and Hearing (CSH)#Mardan may not talk or hear but Alhamdolillah we hear them..Ration distribution of @tikapakistan to their parents through the kind guidance of MNA and Chairperson CSH Shaheen Saifullah #BirlikteYeneceğiz 🇹🇷🇵🇰 #RamzanPakistan pic.twitter.com/ZdiN2sLitn

— 🇹🇷 Mustafa Yurdakul/مصطفی 🌞 (@Mustafa_MFA) May 5, 2020

"The children of Centre for Speech and Hearing (CSH) Mardan may not talk or hear but Alhamdolillah we hear them, Mustafa Yurdakul, Turkey's ambassador to Pakistan, tweeted after the ceremony.



"We will not leave alone our Pakistani brothers and sisters in this testing time," said Gokhan Umut, TIKA's Islamabad Coordinator.

TIKA also distributed 50,000 surgical masks and food packages in Multan, Umut added.

During the ongoing holy month of Ramazan, the Turkish aid agency will distribute 2,500 food packages in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad.