ABU DHABI // The UAE’s close relationship with Pakistan has been strengthened by a large amount of humanitarian and development aid in recent years.
In 2011, in the aftermath of the devastating floods in Swat Valley, the UAE President, Sheikh Khalifa, ordered that the UAE Project to Aid Pakistan (PAP) be launched with this goal.
The organisation, which has continued since then, aims to offer long-term development assistance projects that offer sustainability and continuous benefits to beneficiaries.
UAE PAP is a non-profit voluntary contribution project that especially focuses on infrastructure development, education and health.
According to recent figures, the UAE has so far invested Dh1.1 billion in infrastructure development.
This has included the reconstruction of two roads and two bridges in the Swat Valley and Waziristan areas.
A particularly significant project was the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Bridge, which was built in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, a main artery for provincial inhabitants.
The 330 metre-long bridge sees up to 5,000 vehicles a day and serves as many as 70,000 commuters. The project cost Dh45.8 million.
The Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Bridge on the Swat River, which was destroyed in the floods of 2011, was rebuilt with these funds at a cost of Dh38.6m.
This bridge serves as a crossing for travellers between Pakistan and Afghanistan, cutting the distance between Karachi and Kabul by about 400 kilometres.
The UAE has also built the Dh139.57m Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Road, which acts as a strategic crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, cutting the distance between Karachi and Kabul by about 400 kilometres. The 50 kilometre-long road boasts ultra-modern engineering and technical specifications.
Education is another sector that PAP has invested heavily in.
The organisation has established 60 schools for boys and girls, worth Dh152.5m.
Educational projects were carried out in a number of regions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, South Waziristan, Bajaur and Mohmand Agency.
Meanwhile, the UAE has tried to upgrade Pakistan’s poor health facilities, especially in remote areas.
PAP has spent Dh462.4m in equipping and maintaining eight hospitals and clinics in Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, South Waziristan and Bajaur.
As Pakistan is one of the few countries where polio still exists, the UAE has pledged Dh440m in vaccination programmes.
The World Health Organisation reported 198 cases of polio in 2011, 58 in 2012 and 93 last year.
This year, 99 cases have been registered, compared to 24 in the same period last year.
Starting in June, health teams from the UAE are carrying out a vaccination programme to protect 3.6 million Pakistani children against polio.
It is part of the Health For All – Better Future programme, which is being carried out as part of an initiative by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to eradicate polio in the world.
By the start of August, the workers had already vaccinated 3,048,669 children in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and 12 tribal areas
“Sheikh Mohamed’s initiative is important for Pakistan given the fact that the targeted regions are the world’s largest and deeply plagued by polio, but indicators of significant success have emerged from the first day of the campaign,” a spokesman for PAP said.
Also, the UAE is committed to clean water projects in Pakistan. So far, PAP has implemented 44 water projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 20 in South Waziristan, 10 in Mohmand Agency and two in Southern Waziristan, at a total cost of Dh25.6m.
These include digging wells, building desalination plants, tanks, pumps and water pipes.
