UAE RESPONSE TO PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE SIGNIFICANT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 004283

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STATE FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARPI, EB/IFD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL EAID PK TC
SUBJECT: UAE RESPONSE TO PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE SIGNIFICANT


1. (U) Summary: With Pakistanis being the second largest
ethnic group in the UAE, the impact from, and the response
to, the earthquake disaster in Pakistan has been both
immediate and significant. President Khalifa approved the
disbursement of USD 100 million to Pakistan to provide
immediate relief assistance and to establish shelters for
victims, and ordered the UAE Armed Forces to set up field
hospitals in Pakistan to provide medical treatment to the
victims. The UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA) and the
Mohammed bin Rashid Charitable Foundation and Humanitarian
Trust (MbR Foundation) dispatched relief teams, and the Abu
Dhabi and Dubai police departments sent search and rescue
teams. The private sector has also responded generously. End
Summary.


2. (U) The UAE is significantly affected by the disaster.
According to the Pakistani Embassy in Abu Dhabi, there are
currently more than 500,000 Pakistanis living in the UAE,
making Pakistanis the second largest expatriate population,
after Indians, accounting for approximately 15% of the UAE
population, and almost 20% of its workforce. The U.S.
Embassy was also affected as it employs 11 Pakistani families
(41 family members) as locally employed staff, at least two
of whom are known to have lost relatives and/or property in
the disaster.


3. (U) Ahsan Ullah Khan, the Ambassador of Pakistan to the
UAE, has requested several specific items from the UAEG
including earthmoving equipment and search and rescue
helicopters in addition to the general call for medical
supplies, tents, pre-cooked food, water-purification tablets,
and generators. Pakistani diplomat Imran Haider noted that
UAEG has always been very generous in its support of Pakistan
and this occasion is no different. On October 10, President
Khalifa committed USD 100 million for Pakistan relief, and
the following day ordered the UAE Armed Forces to the
affected areas to establish field hospitals which will be
both fully staffed and supplied for disaster relief.


4. (U) The RCA and MbR Foundation -- both of which are
quasi-governmental charities ) have dispatched relief teams.
The MbR Foundation sent a 35-member rescue and relief team
(headed by Ibrahim bu Melha, General Secretary of the MbR
Foundation and close adviser to Dubai Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Rashid),and two aircraft loaded with food, clothes,
rescue vehicles, and tents. Abdulrahman bin Sobeih, head of
the International Relief Committee, told econoff that the MbR
Foundation has allocated USD 4 million for the relief
operation, and that it will send more if necessary. This
money will cover the cost of medicine, equipment, tents, and
logistical support.


5. (U) On October 10, the UAE Red Crescent sent two relief
teams -- one to Pakistan and one to India. The teams were
ordered by RCA Chairman Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed al-Nahyan
(who is also the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State
for Foreign Affairs) to purchase any additional needed relief
supplies from the local markets in order to expedite the
provision of relief assistance. Saleh al-Mullah, Deputy
Secretary General for Foreign Affairs, told econoff that

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these teams brought food, medicine, medical supplies, and
tents, and that they are coordinating with the Pakistani Red
Crescent. Al-Mullah said that immediately after the
earthquake, the RCA tasked its office in Afghanistan to go to
the affected areas to assess the most immediate needs, so
that the necessary assistance could be dispatched swiftly.


6. (U) Arriving in Mansehra on October 10, the 26-man Abu
Dhabi Police team, headed by the department's Director of
Rescue and Aid, brought with it a K9 unit and search
equipment. The 25-man team from the Dubai Police Department
went immediately to Islamabad to try to rescue people trapped
in a collapsed 10-story building. That team brought heat
detectors, low voice frequency devices, infrared cameras, and
a K9 unit.


7. (U) In addition to the offers made by the UAEG, support
from other sectors has been diverse and generous:
- Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan's Dhabi Group has
donated USD 3.8 million (AED 14 million) to the Presidential
Relief Fund, earmarked for Pakistan.
- The UN World Food Program in Dubai has planned an airlift
of 120 metric tons of high-energy biscuits to Pakistan using
USD 500,000 from its emergency response account.
- Etihad, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi owned airline, has offered
free flights to transport relief supplies.
- Libya has started a relief supplies air-bridge to Pakistan
via Abu Dhabi; the Libyan Embassy in Abu Dhabi has already
arranged for one planeload of rice to depart the UAE for
Pakistan.
- Private citizens are also getting involved. There are
reports of local employers bearing the costs of sending
affected employees home, providing both airfare and financial
assistance. One person noted, "especially during this holy
month of Ramadan, our hearts go out to the unfortunate and
those affected by this disaster."
QUINN