ISLAMABAD, Oct 21: Saudi government is there to help its Pakistani brethren in this hour of need and it is making all-out efforts to help the people in quake-stricken areas, Saudi Ambassador Ali S. Awadh Asseri said.

He was briefing mediapersons on Saudi government’s relief and rescue efforts, here on Friday.

The ambassador said: “These are the times that bring us closer. We must share each other’s pain and sufferings and be there as a strong support for our brothers and sisters.”

The pain felt by the people of Pakistan is also being felt across the frontiers by the people of Saudi Arabia, he added.

He said it was this pain that had motivated the leadership and the people of the Kingdom to take effective measures with an intention to alleviate the after-effects of the earthquake.

“Whether it be in the shape of dispatching relief goods or offering medical support or a brother standing with a brother and a sister standing with a sister, the people of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan stand as one.”

He said when the tragic earthquake struck Pakistan, the custodian of the two holy mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz immediately passed instructions to establish an ‘air bridge’ with Pakistan to transport all possible relief goods that might be needed by the affected people.

He (King Abdullah) also called President Gen Pervez Musharraf to offer his condolences to the families which have suffered and to express solidarity with Pakistan, he added.

On the special instructions of the custodian of the two holy mosques, an extensive television campaign will be launched from October 22 to collect funds for the quake-hit people, he said.

This being the holy month of Ramazan, the ambassador said, “I assure that the people of Saudi Arabia will come forth enthusiastically to bring relief to the earthquake stricken people in Pakistan.

“Even our sisters in Saudi Arabia have responded eloquently to the king’s call and started a campaign to collect funds to be contributed towards the relief effort.”

A state-of-the-art field hospital has already been set up in Mansehra and it is now extending medical help to the people of the area.

A team of professional doctors, medical technicians and assistants has also come with the hospital. The hospital is equipped with a surgical unit, intensive care units and recovery rooms. It also has an outpatient clinic and two ambulances designed for response in remote areas.

On October 14, in his Friday sermon, the Imam-i-Ka’aba called upon the Saudi people to join the efforts to collect funds for their brothers and sisters in Pakistan, he said.

Dr Muaffaq, who is heading the Saudi medical mission based in Mansehra, said we were working round the clock and doing our best to treat as much people as we can.”

When asked, the ambassador said he did not know whether his government was considering providing oil in aid to Pakistan for relief and rescue operations. “This is something between the oil ministers,” he said.