ISLAMABAD: The Muslim World League launched a flood relief campaign in Pakistan on Saturday, with support aimed at providing the basic needs of tens of thousands still reeling from catastrophic floods that have devastated the South Asian country.
More than 33 million people have been affected by unusually heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan this year, which many experts have blamed on climate change. At least 1,700 people have been killed in the floods since mid-June.
With large swathes of the country still submerged, hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis have been living in temporary shelters and battling disease outbreaks with little or no food.
Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the MWL and chairman of the Association of Muslim Scholars, held a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Saturday.
“We highly appreciate the delegations of the association in this difficult circumstance that our country is going through,” Sharif said.
“I proudly follow your efforts, and we thank you for your great role in bringing together the nation’s scholars and highlighting the true face of Islam.”
Al-Issa arrived in Islamabad on Thursday, where he attended the International Seerat-un-Nabi Conference. He is also set to review the aftermath of one of the worst disasters in Pakistan’s history.
The flood relief campaign launched in Islamabad was part of a “humanitarian duty,” Al-Issa said.
“We are proud of the performance of our Islamic and humanitarian duty toward our brothers, which represents the compassion and affection of Muslims among themselves,” he said.
The MWL chief, who will be in Pakistan until Oct. 14, delivered Friday sermons at a number of mosques and held meetings with other officials, including Religious Affairs Minister Mufti Abdul Shakoor.
Al-Issa and Shakoor discussed issues related to Islamic affairs and humanitarian work in the region, as well as prospects for bilateral cooperation.
Shakoor praised the role of the Muslim World League in serving Islamic causes, resolving the issues of Muslim minorities around the world, and the centrality of its efforts to promote unity among Muslims, representing the true message of Islam abroad.
MWL is an international Islamic NGO based in Makkah, which aims to spread the true message of Islam and advance moderate values that promote peace and tolerance.