In light of the unfortunate earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand, the Pakistan embassies in Yangon and Bangkok will be available to provide assistance to Pakistani citizens in the event of emergencies, the Foreign Office said in a statement.
Additionally, the Crisis Management Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has been activated to monitor the situation, it added.
At least 1,000 people have been killed in the earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday.
The foreign affairs ministry said Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with the brotherly people of Myanmar and Thailand in the wake of this unprecedented natural calamity.
Pakistani citizens in the quake-hit countries have been advised to contact the following numbers, for any assistance in Yangon: Charge d’ Affaires Anwar Zeb can be contacted at +959880922880, Counsellor Muhammad Shoaib can be contacted at +959448999967 and Consular Assistant Ali Sher can be contacted at +959457099977.
While in Bangkok, First Secretary Fahad will be available at +66 95 968 1506 and Consular Assistant Yaseen at +66 91 697 7702.
The Crisis Management Unit of the MoFA in Islamabad can be reached at 051-9207887 and email: [email protected].
Foreign rescue teams began flying into Myanmar on Saturday to aid the search for survivors from an earthquake in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation crippling critical infrastructure amid a grinding civil war.
The death toll in Myanmar was 1,002, the military government said on Saturday, up sharply from initial state media reports of 144 dead on Friday.
At least nine people were killed in neighbouring Thailand, where the 7.7 magnitude quake rattled buildings and brought down a skyscraper under construction in the capital Bangkok, trapping 30 people under debris, with 49 missing.
The US Geological Service’s predictive modelling estimated the death toll could exceed 10,000 in Myanmar and that losses could exceed the country’s annual economic output.
The quake damaged roads, bridges and buildings in Myanmar, according to the junta, whose top general made a rare call for international assistance on Friday.
“Search and rescue operations are currently being carried out in the affected areas,” the junta said in a statement on state media on Saturday.
President Zardari, PM Sharif express grief
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday expressed deep grief over the loss of precious human lives and other losses in the devastating earthquake.
The president expressed solidarity with the people and affected families of Thailand and Myanmar, the President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release.
He further said that Pakistan shared the grief of the affected people of both countries.
In a post on his X handle, PM Sharif said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of both countries as they pass through these difficult times.”
He said Pakistan stands in solidarity with Thailand and Myanmar, offers support and wishes them strength, safety and a swift recovery from this catastrophe.
