UNITED NATIONS: Deputy Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary General Farhan Haq in a press briefing on Thursday said Ban Ki-moon expressed sympathy for victims of the recent Karachi heatwave.

"Our thoughts and our sympathies go out to all the people who have been suffering. "It’s amazing to know that hundreds of people have died from this awful heatwave that has struck Karachi...we certainly hope that the situation there will be able to improve very swiftly," said the deputy spokesperson.

Haq said he was unsure whether Pakistan had requested any humanitarian assistance from the UN, but that the international body would respond if such a request had been made.

"I am not aware that we have received any actual request from humanitarian assistance. But if we’re called to do something, of course, we’ll respond, but I’ll need to check whether there’s been any such request," he said.

Read more: India trying to politicise UN with unfounded allegations: FO

Over 1,000 have perished in Sindh since Saturday as the province languished in the grips of a searing heatwave. Although the heatwave has eased since then, 105 deaths were reported on Thursday.

The province has struggled with water scarcity and power outages, while hospitals and other healthcare facilities are overburdened with patients ─ at least 40,000 have been admitted to hospitals since the heatwave began.

Read more: Heatwave eases, but still claims 105 lives