US embassy cable - 05ABUDHABI4283

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 004283 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARPI, EB/IFD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, EAID, PK, TC 
SUBJECT: UAE RESPONSE TO PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE SIGNIFICANT 
 
1. (U) Summary: With Pakistanis being the second largest 
ethnic group in the UAE, the impact from, and the response 
to, the earthquake disaster in Pakistan has been both 
immediate and significant.  President Khalifa approved the 
disbursement of USD 100 million to Pakistan to provide 
immediate relief assistance and to establish shelters for 
victims, and ordered the UAE Armed Forces to set up field 
hospitals in Pakistan to provide medical treatment to the 
victims.  The UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA) and the 
Mohammed bin Rashid Charitable Foundation and Humanitarian 
Trust (MbR Foundation) dispatched relief teams, and the Abu 
Dhabi and Dubai police departments sent search and rescue 
teams.  The private sector has also responded generously. End 
Summary. 
 
2. (U) The UAE is significantly affected by the disaster. 
According to the Pakistani Embassy in Abu Dhabi, there are 
currently more than 500,000 Pakistanis living in the UAE, 
making Pakistanis the second largest expatriate population, 
after Indians, accounting for approximately 15% of the UAE 
population, and almost 20% of its workforce.  The U.S. 
Embassy was also affected as it employs 11 Pakistani families 
(41 family members) as locally employed staff, at least two 
of whom are known to have lost relatives and/or property in 
the disaster. 
 
3. (U) Ahsan Ullah Khan, the Ambassador of Pakistan to the 
UAE, has requested several specific items from the UAEG 
including earthmoving equipment and search and rescue 
helicopters in addition to the general call for medical 
supplies, tents, pre-cooked food, water-purification tablets, 
and generators.  Pakistani diplomat Imran Haider noted that 
UAEG has always been very generous in its support of Pakistan 
and this occasion is no different.  On October 10, President 
Khalifa committed USD 100 million for Pakistan relief, and 
the following day ordered the UAE Armed Forces to the 
affected areas to establish field hospitals which will be 
both fully staffed and supplied for disaster relief. 
 
4. (U) The RCA and MbR Foundation -- both of which are 
quasi-governmental charities ) have dispatched relief teams. 
 The MbR Foundation sent a 35-member rescue and relief team 
(headed by Ibrahim bu Melha, General Secretary of the MbR 
Foundation and close adviser to Dubai Crown Prince Mohammed 
bin Rashid), and two aircraft loaded with food, clothes, 
rescue vehicles, and tents.  Abdulrahman bin Sobeih, head of 
the International Relief Committee, told econoff that the MbR 
Foundation has allocated USD 4 million for the relief 
operation, and that it will send more if necessary.  This 
money will cover the cost of medicine, equipment, tents, and 
logistical support. 
 
5. (U) On October 10, the UAE Red Crescent sent two relief 
teams -- one to Pakistan and one to India.  The teams were 
ordered by RCA Chairman Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed al-Nahyan 
(who is also the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State 
for Foreign Affairs) to purchase any additional needed relief 
supplies from the local markets in order to expedite the 
provision of relief assistance.  Saleh al-Mullah, Deputy 
Secretary General for Foreign Affairs, told econoff that 
 
SIPDIS 
these teams brought food, medicine, medical supplies, and 
tents, and that they are coordinating with the Pakistani Red 
Crescent.  Al-Mullah said that immediately after the 
earthquake, the RCA tasked its office in Afghanistan to go to 
the affected areas to assess the most immediate needs, so 
that the necessary assistance could be dispatched swiftly. 
 
6. (U) Arriving in Mansehra on October 10, the 26-man Abu 
Dhabi Police team, headed by the department's Director of 
Rescue and Aid, brought with it a K9 unit and search 
equipment.  The 25-man team from the Dubai Police Department 
went immediately to Islamabad to try to rescue people trapped 
in a collapsed 10-story building.  That team brought heat 
detectors, low voice frequency devices, infrared cameras, and 
a K9 unit. 
 
7. (U) In addition to the offers made by the UAEG, support 
from other sectors has been diverse and generous: 
- Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan's Dhabi Group has 
donated USD 3.8 million (AED 14 million) to the Presidential 
Relief Fund, earmarked for Pakistan. 
- The UN World Food Program in Dubai has planned an airlift 
of 120 metric tons of high-energy biscuits to Pakistan using 
USD 500,000 from its emergency response account. 
- Etihad, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi owned airline, has offered 
free flights to transport relief supplies. 
- Libya has started a relief supplies air-bridge to Pakistan 
via Abu Dhabi; the Libyan Embassy in Abu Dhabi has already 
arranged for one planeload of rice to depart the UAE for 
Pakistan. 
- Private citizens are also getting involved.  There are 
reports of local employers bearing the costs of sending 
affected employees home, providing both airfare and financial 
assistance.  One person noted, "especially during this holy 
month of Ramadan, our hearts go out to the unfortunate and 
those affected by this disaster." 
QUINN