Pak PM Sharif postpones UAE visit owing to devastating floods

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced that he has postponed his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the unprecedented floods that have killed more than 1,100 persons across the country.

The Prime Minister, who was scheduled to visit the UAE on September 3, also said the Gulf nation has started to deliver the first tranche of relief items worth USD 50 million for the flood victims in Pakistan, which has been facing the worst flood situation in the last 30 years.

I was set to visit the UAE on September 3 on the invitation of HH the President. We mutually decided to postpone the visit so that I could focus on the ongoing rescue and relief activities, Sharif said on Twitter.

He said that Pakistan would forever be indebted to our brothers and sisters who have stood by us" in this testing time.

He said UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday night during a telephonic conversation with him assured that the UAE would continue to aid the flood victims in Pakistan.

The UAE authorities on Monday contacted Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and pledged 20 aircraft full of flood relief equipment for the millions of flood-affected people across Pakistan.

Over 1,600 persons have been injured and nearly 735,000 livestock -- a significant source of livelihood and food -- have been lost in the flooding that has also damaged roads and more than two million acres of agricultural land.