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Pakistan

Pakistan relief mission complete, NATO to leave on Feb 1st

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - NATO Ambassador Maurits Jochems opened the final NATO press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, Jan 31, by announcing the completion of the three-month NATO disaster relief mission in Pakistan, saying it had completed its goal of providing relief and helping survivors endure the harsh winter in Kashmir.

The relief mission also represented the first deployment of the NATO Response Force beyond NATO territory. The government of Pakistan asked NATO to join the operation two days after the October eighth quake struck a broad area of northern Pakistan, including Kashmir and the country's northwest, killing about 87,000 people and injuring thousands. More than three million were left homeless. The first aid flight arrived on October 14.

Ambassador Jochems said the original agreement with the Pakistani government was for the NATO relief team to stay for 90 days, and there was no need to stay beyond its February first deadline. He said NATO had met its goal within its operating area of supplying food, shelter, medical care and other relief that would help people survive the winter.

"The winterization of the people, to enable them to survive the winter until the reconstruction phase starts has been taken care of," he said.

NATO thanked the Government of Pakistan and the Army for their excellent cooperation and praised the bravery of the nation in this difficult time. In reply to a question, Ambassador Jochems said this is the largest amount of aid given to any nation by NATO, and it was given on humanitarian grounds.

Pakistani Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan, Director of the Interservices Public Relations division, also attended the press conference and expressed the gratitude of the Government and people of Pakistan for the relief capabilities and supplies provided by NATO.

Speaking of the 90 day operation, the commander of the NATO mission, Air Commodore Andrew Walton, said the air bridge had proven very effective providing thousands of tons of relief aid. NATO flights delivered 3,778 tons of tents, blankets, stoves and food on 170 flights. A NATO field hospital treated 4,890 patients and conducted 160 major surgical operations, while mobile medical teams treated an additional 3,424 patients in remote villages.

NATO engineers also supported the Pakistani Army in Operation Winter Race, by constructing 110 multi-purpose shelters for the population living in the mountains. They removed rubble from streets, and set up several schools in Bagh. In Abbotabad NATO set up a fuel farm, which refueled 25 helicopters daily, for onward flight relief operations.

The NATO mission included British, Italian, Dutch, Czech, Spanish, French, German, Polish and Lithuanian forces.

"When we first arrived, we saw an area that I think was in shock at the scale of the devastation. You could see it in people's eyes. You could see it in their faces," said Air Commodore Andrew Walton, commander of the NATO disaster relief team in Pakistan. "As we leave, what I see now is hope. I see people who recognize they have a future."