Relief for Indonesians caught in tsunami aftermath

Pakistan dispatched the first part of a taskforce of about 250 army personnel to parts of devastated Indonesia on Monday, in two C-130 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). "The taskforce assigned for Indonesia, includes about 160 army engineers and a 50-bed field hospital. The deployment of all the personnel will be completed within the next six days while the heavy equipment is being transported by sea in navy ships," an official from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR)office told IRIN, from the city of Rawalpindi, adjacent to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Over 100,000 people have been reported dead in Indonesia alone, with the total official death toll climbing to above 150,000 across the region affected by the tsunami. According to the United Nations, some 500,000 displaced people are without food and water in some of the worst hit areas of Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Two Pakistani naval ships loaded with blankets, tents, medicines and food items including rice, pulses and edible oil are set to leave the southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday bound for Sri Lanka and Indonesia. "The ships, PNS Moawin and PNS Khyber with three helicopters would stay for seven days in each of the countries," Captain Aamir Naeem Baig, head of naval public relations, told IRIN in Islamabad. The ships were also carrying mobile surgical teams comprising of surgeons, paediatricians, specialists in community medicine and some 80 paramedics, they will operate in remote areas by helicopter. An expeditionary force of about 50 marines with three officers is also being despatched to assist in the distribution of goods. Islamabad announced on Monday another task force consisting of Pakistani army engineers is likely to be sent to Sri Lanka later in the week to help in rehabilitation work. Meanwhile, several Pakistani charities have taken different initiatives to collect donations for tsunami victims across the blighted region. In one such move, the Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman (MKF) Foundation, on Sunday aired a 4-hour long telethon transmission through a Dubai-based cable TV channel, to encourage people to contribute to assistance for the victims. The foundation is in the process of establishing emergency relief centres across the country so that people can donate items as well, Nadeem Iqbal, executive director of the charity, told IRIN from Karachi. The centres will operate for an initial period of 30 days. To facilitate donations in Pakistan, the government on Saturday announced it would set up the 'President's Relief Fund for Tsunami Victims', where people can submit their donations.