OIC calls for long term floods rehabilitation help to Pakistan

Dawn (Pakistan): Secretary General Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) Prof Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu on Thursday felt the need for long term efforts to overcome the devastation of floods in Pakistan. Talking to a private television channel the OIC SC said the Muslim world as well as international community should keep on assisting Pakistan to restore the normal life activities by reviving damaged infrastructure in the flood hit areas.

He said that as soon as the tragedy took place the OIC came fast to assist the suffering humanity adding the member countries donated $ 680 million with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran on the top. Some Muslim countries extended bilateral assistance to Pakistan for relief activities in the flood hit areas apart from OIC platform.

There is a network of NGOs working with OIC in the flood rehabilitation activities, he said. “After assuming my office on January 1, 2005 the first challenge I met was the Tsunami in Indonesia and at that time the OIC had no mechanism to deal with such human catastrophes”, he said adding after learning the lesson from that happening, the organization set up a permanent department of humanitarian assistance.

At its initial stage the department had performed effectively during the crisis period in the Muslim states, he said. He said that there exists full potential that OIC can extend effective services during the crisis period not only in the Muslim countries but entire world. The OIC had been extending remarkable humanitarian services throughout the world but its efforts were not duly propagated, he said. It was the responsibility of the Muslim media to highlight the humanitarian services of its own organization, he said….