His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday directed concerned authorities to dispatch a field hospital to Pakistan to help the victims of the devastating earthquake that hit parts of the country.



A team of 52 doctors, surgeons, nurses and other medics from the Royal Medical Services will leave for Pakistan today, to help ease the suffering survivors of the quake and conduct surgeries.



Jordan has in the past set up hospitals in the West Bank, Iraq and Iran (in the aftermath of the Bam earthquake in December 2004).



Earlier Monday, the Kingdom sent two military C130 cargo planes carrying a 12-man-strong search and rescue team and relief aid to the quake-affected areas of Pakistan.



King Abdullah ordered the humanitarian mission after a devastating earthquake hit Pakistan and India earlier this week killing and injuring tens of thousands in the worst natural catastrophe witnessed by the region.



The relief aid was coordinated by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO), whose president, HRH Prince Rashad Bin El Hassan, attended the loading of the planes and saw off the rescue team, who belong to the support and rescue division of the Civil Defence Department (CDD).



Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdul Salam Abbadi, who is also JHCO secretary general, said the relief shipment included 30 tonnes of tents, blankets, medicines and food parcels among other items.



He told reporters at the Amman Civil Airport in Marka as the two aircraft were being loaded, that the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) donated the tents while the Ministry of Health provided the medical supplies. The JHCO organisation took care of securing the rest of the aid cargo.



Abbadi said the charity organisation embarked on a fundraising campaign to help Pakistan, which was the worst hit by the 7.6-magnitude earthquake.



Staff from the Pakistani embassy in Amman were also at the airport to see off the airforce planes.



Seven members of the rescue team that left for Pakistan had taken part in the Bam rescue efforts and were able to pull several people from under the rubble days after the quake rattled the southern Iranian town.

The Jordan Times


By Mahmoud Al Abed