Shaheer Ahmed
Wars are never justified, however, whatever the reason may be. In the end, humanity suffers. With advanced technology, wars are more destructive. The era after the 2000s has seen many wars where the world, which was a little peaceful, has turned into war zones. Where ever we go, we see conflicts in different forms. The Russian- Ukrainian conflict has escalated, causing a lot of damage. Pakistan has been known to send aid and support to the war zones irrespective of personal interests. And so Pakistan will also help Ukraine by sending emergency aid to show solidarity with the people.
‘The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war-Norman Schwarzkopf’
Very few act on it. States inevitably prioritize their national interest, but when we can have a dialogue, why not go for it? In the end, people suffer. We have to act wisely.
Pakistan is in a region that has been at war since the 1980s. We can understand what the war takes away for you. It takes generations to be normal again. But so we learn the lesson, No probably not.
Because of the ongoing conflict, Ukraine has appealed for global help to address humanitarian needs. 1.5 million refugees have been moved to Poland and other neighboring countries. Since Pakistan has cordial relations with Ukraine, Pakistan stands to take a principled stance in this matter.
To show support to the people of Ukraine, Pakistan will send financial aid. The federal cabinet passed an emergency order of Rs 60 million. Two aircraft will deliver the aid in Poland. The Ukrainian embassy in Islamabad requested humanitarian help, and they provided a list of urgently needed items.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly put their request on high priority by putting it into action. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was asked to use its resources to organize the requested support and transport it accordingly. The MoFA has also forwarded the summary to the PM for approval so that the aid can be dispatched with no delay.
The items include 100 tents, 500 blankets, 500 sleeping bags, 30 generators of 3.5kV, 2,500 soap bars, 995 hand wash bottles, and about 1,990 packs of 250 million sanitizers each. They would dispatch immediately these items through a special flight of C-130 aircraft.
NDMA, after consultation with the Ministry of National Health Services and Coordination, MoFA, and Army, has arranged for canned food items and medicine which will be sent through C-130.
We hope and pray that the conflict is resolved through dialogues soon before there is a spillover and no turning back. Pakistan stands with the people of Ukraine.
‘The most shocking fact about war is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels, not their own-Aldous Huxley’
