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Another Indian quake relief consignment for Pakistan
by Maya Singh

     New Delhi: India on Friday sent a second consignment of relief supplies for quake victims in Pakistan. The train carrying the 82-tonne consignment comprising of 5000 blankets, 370 tents, five tonnes of plastic sheets and 12 tonnes of medicines left the Shakurbasti Railway Station at 10.45 a.m. this morning. It will reach Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah railway route in Punjab.

     Earlier, 25 tonnes of relief supplies, including seven trucks of medicines was sent as relief by an Indian Air Force (IAF) IL-76 MD transport plane on Wednesday. It was the first Indian aid- related plane to land in Pakistan after the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War. Aid continues to pour in from across the world after Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf personally went on air to solicit international help in terms of medicines, blankets, tents and helicopters to cope with what he called the country s "biggest tragedy". Musharraf has expressed gratitude to the international community, including India, for the help extended to his country in its hour of crisis. "Prime Minister Singh was very kind to ring me up and offer all possible assistance," Musharraf said, adding "we express our gratitude to him and we have accepted Indian aid in certain forms." US President George W. Bush has also praised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for taking the initiative to help Pakistan with relief materials.

      The October 8 earthquake measuring between 7.4 and 7.6 on the Richter Scale and followed by several aftershocks, with its epicentre near Muzaffarabad, has claimed the lives of close to 25,000 people in Pakistan and about 1300 on the Indian side of Kashmir. Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to deny that Indian soldiers had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan-administered Kashmir to help Pakistani troops rebuild their bunkers. The Pakistan defence spokesperson Major General Shaukat Sultan has termed the reports as fabricated.