In the aftermath of the
2005 Kashmir earthquake
The 2005 Kashmir earthquake occurred at on 8 October in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir. It was centred near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also affected nearby Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some areas of Indian-administered Jammu and ...
on 8 October in the
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
-administered region of
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
, several rescue and relief operations have been organised in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
to assist victims of the disaster.
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...
wrote letters of condolence to both
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
i President
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...
.
In his letter to Musharraf, Lee said he was deeply saddened to hear of the earthquake in South Asia, which has caused devastation and heavy loss of life in Pakistan.
In his letter to Dr. Manmohan Singh, Lee said he was deeply saddened by the loss of life in Kashmir as a result of the earthquake. He said: "On behalf of the Government and people of Singapore, I would like to convey our condolences and deepest sympathies to you and to the families of the victims." He added that India demonstrated resilience and resolve in the wake of the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
, and he was confident that it would once again respond decisively to this challenge.
Disaster rescue team
The
Singapore Civil Defence Force
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is an uniformed organisation in Singapore under the Ministry of Home Affairs that provides emergency services such as firefighting, technical rescue, and emergency medical services, and coordinates nati ...
(SCDF) was dispatching a 44-member
Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team
The Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) is the elite unit of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) that specialises in complex incidents such as technical rescue, urban search and rescue, Search and rescue, water rescue operations and pr ...
(DART) to help Pakistan's relief and rescue operations. They brought along three
search-and-rescue dogs to assist in looking for survivors buried under the earthquake rubble. Two
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
aircraft from the
Republic of Singapore Air Force
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the aerial service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for controlling and defending the airspace of the country, and providing air support to the Army and Navy. It was establish ...
were used to transport the team to Pakistan.
As of 16 October, the SCDF team, called the Lion Heart, have treated 204 patients since its arrival at
Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad (; ur, ) is the capital and largest city of Azad Kashmir, and the 60th largest in Pakistan.
The city is located in Muzaffarabad District, near the confluence of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers. The district is bounded by the Pak ...
and other outskirt towns. Other international teams that were still operating in Muzaffarabad at that time were from
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
North Cyprus
Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Recog ...
and
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
.
Relief and medical teams
Singapore also sent two medical and relief teams to the disaster site.
A six-member team of relief workers from
Mercy Relief and the
Singapore General Hospital
Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is an academic health science centre and tertiary referral hospital in Singapore. It is located next to the Bukit Merah and Chinatown districts of the Central Region, close to the Outram Community Hospital (OCH ...
was sent to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
to help the victims. Stationed at a partially damaged hospital in
Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad (; ur, ) is the capital and largest city of Azad Kashmir, and the 60th largest in Pakistan.
The city is located in Muzaffarabad District, near the confluence of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers. The district is bounded by the Pak ...
, the team brought with them food and medical supplies, as well as items like tents and blankets, which the Pakistani relief workers have identified as essential items. In the two weeks deployment, the team has treated about 7,000 patients.
The
Singapore Red Cross
The Singapore Red Cross (SRC), formally the Singapore Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Singapore. The SRC is a national member of the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Interna ...
sent a four-member medical teams composed of two doctors and two nurses to Pakistan to provide emergency medical relief assistance. They were working with the disaster response team from Pakistan's Red Crescent and the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a worldwide humanitarian aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 192-member National Societies. It acts before, during and after disast ...
in
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...
.
Community relief effort
Various community groups have rallied and organised the collection of donation and relief supplies, including effort by the 4,000 strong
Pakistani community in Singapore. The ''Singapore Pakistan Association'' has set up four centres across the country to help collect relief supplies. The needed relief supplies are shelter items like tents and plastic sheets, blankets and mattresses, food items like high energy biscuits and pre-cooked
halal
''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...
tinned food. Also needed are medicines like antibiotics, typhoid medication, fracture related and first aid kits, surgical instruments and water purification tablets.
The Pakistani High Commission in Singapore is coordinating these effort and providing information to the public about the disaster and the relief operation. The High Commission is also accepting donations made out to the "Presidents' Relief Fund for Earthquake Victims - 2005." As of 26 October, this joint fundraising effort has collected
S$700,000.
The
Islamic Religious Council of Singapore
The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (IRCS), is a statutory board of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Singapore. As a majlis, its role is to look afte ...
(MUIS) launched a public appeal and organised a special fund-raising in aid of the affected victims. Donation boxes marked "Humanitarian Aid to Earthquake Victims in Pakistan, India & Afghanistan" were placed at all its 68 mosques. As of 20 October 2005,. MUIS has collected
S$155,000 in its fund-raising.
The
Singapore Red Cross
The Singapore Red Cross (SRC), formally the Singapore Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Singapore. The SRC is a national member of the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Interna ...
made a public appeal in helping to raise funds for the victims of the earthquake, accepting cheques made out to the "Singapore Red Cross Society" with "Asian Earthquake" marked at the back of it.
References
External links
Kashmir Relief & Development Foundation (KRDF)Pakistan High Commission in SingaporeDonations for Earthquake Victims in Pakistan{dead link, date=November 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes - public appeal by the
Islamic Religious Council of Singapore
The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (IRCS), is a statutory board of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Singapore. As a majlis, its role is to look afte ...
South Asia Earthquake Appeal- donation drive by the
Singapore Red Cross
The Singapore Red Cross (SRC), formally the Singapore Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Singapore. The SRC is a national member of the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Interna ...
2005 Kashmir earthquake
Kashmir earthquake, 2005
Pakistan–Singapore relations
Foreign aid to Pakistan