BRUSSELS, Oct 14: Nato on Friday said it was sending a cargo aircraft containing equipment donated by Sweden to set up a base camp for the World Food Programme’s post-quake relief operation in Muzaffarabad.
The European Commission also said it was rushing an additional 10 million euros in relief to Pakistan following a decision earlier this week to send emergency aid worth 3.6 million euros to the country.
A spokesman for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said an Antonov cargo aircraft would leave for Islamabad on Oct 15 with material for building a camp –- including sleeping quarters, kitchens, communication material as well as fork lifts and transport material — in Muzaffarabad.
Other large donations by European governments would also be ferried to Pakistan in coming days, Nato officials said. They said a senior Nato official was on the plane to liaise with Pakistan on the alliance’s airlift support operation.
Nato dispatched a Boeing 707 with relief supplies to Pakistan earlier this week.
The alliance has, however, ruled out mobilizing its helicopters in Afghanistan to aid Pakistan.
Separately, the European Commission said it was sending 10 million euros to cover the most urgent needs of the victims.
Officials said the money would be used to supply food, drinking water, shelter and medical aid to victims of the quake. Distribution of the aid will be administered by non-governmental agencies in Pakistan.
The EU is also planning to give post-quake reconstruction aid to Pakistan, with the bloc’s foreign ministers expected to discuss the issue in talks in Luxembourg on Oct 18.
