FM expresses grief over loss of lives in Turkey, offers assistance in rescue, relief activities

• The foreign minister on behalf of the President, the Prime Minister and the people of Pakistan expressed condolences on loss of precious human lives and properties.
• Expressing solidarity with the Turk brothers and sisters in the moment of grief, the foreign minister also offered support and assistance in the relief and rescue operations.
• The magnitude-6.8 quake on Friday hit the town of Sivrice in the eastern Elazig province, causing deaths and buildings to collapse.

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi Saturday phoned his counterpart, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu and expressed grief over heavy human and property losses in a powerful earthquake which hit the eastern part of Turkey on Friday night.

The foreign minister on behalf of the President, the Prime Minister and the people of Pakistan expressed condolences on loss of precious human lives and properties, a press release said.

Expressing solidarity with the Turk brothers and sisters in the moment of grief, the foreign minister also offered support and assistance in the relief and rescue operations. They were ready to provide all possible support to the Turk people, he added.

Qureshi also offered sending of field and rescue teams to Turkey.

Turkey’s foreign minister expressed his gratitude to the leadership and the people of Pakistan for their help and support.

He said the eastern part of the Turkey was hit by a powerful quake in which twenty people lost their lives and several hundreds were injured. The government of Turkey had launched the rescue and rehabilitation activities, he added.

According to media report, the magnitude-6.8 quake on Friday hit the town of Sivrice in the eastern Elazig province, causing deaths and buildings to collapse.