Muslim states vow one billion dollar aid to flood-hit Pakistan

Islamabad, Aug 30(ANI): Muslim countries and organizations have pledged nearly a billion dollars in cash and relief supplies to help Pakistan recover from the worst floods in its history, the head of a group of Islamic states has said.

Addressing a joint press conference with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, head of the 57-member Organization of The Islamic Conference (OIC), said that the pledges came from OIC institutions and telethons held in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar

"They [Muslim countries and organizations] have shown that they are one of the largest contributors of assistance both in kind and cash," The Dawn quoted Ihsanoglu, as saying.

The announcement came as rising waters inundated the city of Thatta in Sindh province, and threatened the nearby town of Sujawal, home to 250,000 people.

The OIC is an international organization with a permanent delegation to the United Nations.

It groups 57 member states, from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia, South Asia and South America (Guyana and Suriname). (ANI)