Pakistan Official Thanks Iran For Helping Flood Victims

Qazvin, Dec 24, IRNA - Sindh's Minister for Relief and Natural Disasters Halim Sheikh Adel, here on Sunday, thanked Iran for helping flood victims in the 2011 flood-stricken areas. He made the remarks in a meeting with Qazvin representative in the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Hadi Barik Bin in the Northern city of Qazvin. 'After the flood in Pakistan, 1,500 housing units have been built for the affected people through Iran's aid,' Sheikh Adel said. 'Although the occurrence of the incident in Pakistan was unfortunate and painful, the support and aids of the friendly and neighborly country of Iran and Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei) motivated us to continue our lives,' he added. 'West hostility towards Iran is because of its progresses in all fields under its courageous leadership; Muslim nations should be vigilant towards US divisive plots.' Qazvin representative in the Assembly of Experts,for his part, called relations between Tehran and Islamabad as historical and cultural and stressed the importance of unity among various factions of Islam. 'Unity among Muslim Ummah can deter US, Zionist regime and their agents' divisive plots and can increase the power of Muslims internationally. The Iranian government announced in 2011 an aid of $80 million for rebuilding houses for the flood victims in Pakistan. Also, an Iranian delegation led by Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar traveled to Pakistan to deliver Iran's humanitarian aid cargo to the Pakistani authorities. Also in 2011, Iran's visiting Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari that Tehran would play a main role in rebuilding the infrastructural projects destroyed in floods in the Pakistani Sindh and Punjab provinces. Iran and Pakistan have always had very close and intimate relations throughout the history. The two countries exchange delegations on a regular basis and their leaders are resolved to further accelerate expansion of ties and cooperation between the two neighboring nations./end