Canada contributes CAD$1 mln for UN Office for Pakistan Humanitarian Pooled Fund

ISLAMABAD, Jun 9 (APP):On Pakistan’s appeal, the government of Canada has contributed CAD$ 850,000 to the World Health Organization to fight COVID-19 and CAD$ one million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Pakistan Humanitarian Pooled Fund.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Canada Raza Bashir Tarar informed this at a virtual meeting with community leaders and officials of Canada-Pakistan affiliated Chamber of Trade (CPACT) in Ottawa on Tuesday.
The meeting was held to discuss issues related to Pakistani diaspora in Canada and the ways to help Pakistanis affected by the global pandemic.
The High Commissioner briefed the participants about Pakistan’s efforts related to combating the COVID-19, saying it was a challenging environment that required a sense of moral and religious responsibility to help those in distress.
He thanked the community organizations for contributing to the Prime Minister’s COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Fun and expressed hope that Pakistani-Canadians would rise to the occasion with their traditional spirit of philanthropy.
He also briefed about the High Commission’s effort to arrange special PIA flights to repatriate stranded Pakistanis including international students.
So far, the High Commission has repatriated 698 stranded Pakistanis through four special PIA flights, he added.
He asked the Pakistanis who wished to travel to Pakistan to get themselves registered with the Consulate General in Toronto.
Earlier, President CPACT – National Capital Region Uzma Khan briefed the High Commissioner on their contribution to reach out to Pakistani diaspora including businessmen on strategy to implement social distancing and provide practical benefits to its members during economic downturn.