Pakistan dispatches aid consignment to Syria amid Israeli strikes 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Tuesday dispatched a consignment of aid for Syria where Israel has been carrying out strikes as part of its military actions in the Middle East.

Israel has been hitting what it calls Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, leading Israel to launch a military campaign in which more than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and more than 3,500 people in Lebanon.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after a Hamas-led assault on southern Israeli communities in which some 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

“On Tuesday, 20th consignment of aid was dispatched from Karachi to Syria,” the NDMA said in a statement. 

“This aid shipment, sent by NDMA in collaboration with Al-Khidmat Foundation [NGO], comprised approximately 17 tons of supplies, including rice buckets, powdered milk, tin food, family packs, sleeping bags, medical support kits and generator. The aid was dispatched via chartered flight from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, to Damascus, Syria.”

Before Tuesday’s dispatch, the government of Pakistan had sent 12 aid consignments to Palestine, six to Lebanon, and one to Syria. 

Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Since the beginning of the war in October last year, Pakistan has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza and raised the issue at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other international forums, urging an end to Israeli military actions.