Unified efforts: Moot calls for humanitarian aid in Syria

Delegates at IFRD meeting urge enhancing relief assistance in the country.

ISLAMABAD:

Stricken with civil war atrocities, the people of Syria are in dire need of rescue and relief work, said delegates from 10 different countries participating in the 3rd Meeting of International Federation for Relief and Development (IFRD) on Saturday.

The work being carried out by international relief organisations needs further coherence and greater organisation, they urged.

The four-day meeting organised by AlKhidmat Foundation would evolve a resolution for more organised relief work in Syria, which is suffering from a civil war, and Palestine, where over a hundred people were killed in Israel’s shelling.

“The Muslim world, in particular, has recently been victim of violence, which demands organisations like IFRD to step up their cooperation,” said Professor Khursheed Ahmed, a leader of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). He was chairing the meeting.

“IFRD has done some commendable job in the past and we need to take it further up,” said the JI leader. He hoped a workable resolution would be achieved by the end of the meeting.

Speaking at the occasion, the president of AlKhidmat Foundation, Dr Hafizur Rehman, said the recent conflict in Syria needs immediate attention of all Muslim countries and particularly the members of IFRD.

“People dying and getting injured in Syria cannot be left on their own. They need help and they need it immediately,” said Rehman. He added that rescue and relief work can be difficult there as the war was on.



“The IFRD is a unique organisation which unites Muslims countries under the same umbrella so that they may work effectively in wake of unforeseen disasters,” said Rehman.

The IFRD includes representatives of rescue and relief non-governmental organisations from Muslim countries like Bangladesh, Egypt, Malaysia, Sudan, and Turkey, and other countries like India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka that have a prominent Muslim population.

The first meeting of IFRD was held in Malaysia and the second in Turkey. These two countries are the main financial contributors, with Pakistan likely to step up its efforts. In the 2010 floods in Pakistan, the organisation worked alongside the AlKhidmat Foundation to carry out rescue and relief work. The IFRD also provides humanitarian help at the development level through its projects.

IRFD President Haji Muhammad Ismail and its secretary general Muhammad Afandi, both from Malaysia, also spoke at the occasion. They appreciated Pakistan’s efforts and its contribution in IRFD’s work.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2012.