Humanitarian services: PRCS celebrates 150 years of Red Cross activism

Pays tributes to volunteers working in disaster-hit areas.

GILGIT: The Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) on Wednesday celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, highlighting the dedication of its volunteers in championing humanitarian action.

Volunteers, G-B government officials, non-governmental organisations and civil society activists participated in the ceremony held at a hotel on Wednesday. The event was sponsored by the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) through the PRCS headquarters in Islamabad.

“We are celebrating this event in recognition of our selfless and dedicated volunteers who have rendered extraordinary services in the most vulnerable areas during war and peace,” said G-B PRCS Chairman Asif Hussain.



He said the idea of volunteerism was drawn from Henry Donant, a Swiss trader who established the ICRC in 1863 after the Battle of Salferino, Austria in 1859.

Karakorum Cooperative Bank Chief Executive Sher Jahan Mir, who was the chief guest, appreciated PRCS’s role in disaster-hit areas and pledged his support.

There are more than 187 volunteer-based national societies of the Red Cross and Red Crescent that follow seven principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary services, unity and universality, said Hussain.

He also highlighted the services rendered by the PRCS during disasters in G-B, whose efforts, he claimed, have been appreciated by organisations worldwide, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2013.