Pakistani media uncovered what it called an “embarrassing” reality of the Shehbaz Sharif government after it was found that the country delivered the same aid to Turkey that the quake-torn nation had previously provided to it during a natural disaster. Pakistani outlets recently reported that the aid provided to Turkey was merely repackaged from what Turkey had given Pakistan when floods swamped the nation last year, thus revealing to the world the biggest aid sham.
The news comes as a humiliating moment of truth for Pakistan’s government, which has in recent days taken immense pride in the relief efforts it has channeled towards Turkey after massive earthquakes ripped through the middle eastern nation. On February 10, two days after the earthquake struck, Pakistani premier Shehbaz Sharif spoke about “brotherhood” and kindness, before the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) tweeted elaborately about its initiatives to help Turkey.
Pakistan speaks about ‘brotherhood’, supplies repackaged aid to Turkey
“The people of Pakistan cannot forget that Turkey took swift action to help us during the earthquake of 2005 and the flood of 2010. The concept of brotherhood in Islam connects us with a unique bond with which we share each other’s pain,” Sharif wrote on Twitter.
On Friday, Pakistan’s NDMA tweeted extensively on the aid it has offered to Turkey so far. “21 containers loaded with relief goods for #QuakeHitTurkiyeSyria reached Taftan. The load includes winterised tents, blankets and other essential articles,” it said. “2 consignments through PAF C130 and Turkish Cargo are also dispatched carrying essentials from Lahore.
@ndmapk will send more relief assistance via all means of transportation to the affected people of both countries,” it added in another tweet.