Pakistan: Turkish aid agency distributes meat to needy

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

A Turkish aid agency on Saturday distributed meat from animals sacrificed on Eid al-Adha among hundreds of poor and needy families in northwestern Pakistan.

The Turkish Red Crescent, locally known as Kizilay, sacrificed dozens of animals in different cities of the country.

Over 1,200 families received the meat in a gathering held in Haripur district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Mustafa Yurdakul, the Turkish ambassador to Pakistan; Mehmet Emre Aktuna, country coordinator of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA); and Ibrahim Carlos Camilo, head of Kizilay in Pakistan; distributed the meat among the poor and needy.

"We want to see a smile on the faces of poor people in Pakistan because the country and its people are very important and dear to us," Yurdakul told participants.

He highlighted the historic relations between the two countries, saying: "People of both countries love each other and this relationship would strengthen with every passing day."

Pakistanis celebrated the first day of the three-day Muslim festival on Wednesday while several other Muslim majority countries marked it on Tuesday.