The Turkish state aid agency held a week-long disaster response training for Pakistani scouts in the southern port city of Karachi, said an official statement on Tuesday.
The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), in collaboration with the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation Disaster Management department, organized advanced urban search and rescue training under its ongoing disaster response initiatives in Pakistan.
The training, held at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Urban Search and Rescue Training Center, included 30 search and rescue volunteers from the Sindh Scouts Association and Alkhidmat Foundation, one of the country’s largest humanitarian relief organizations.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Halil Ibrahim Basaran, TIKA’s Karachi office coordinator, said that the training journey, which began in the aftermath of Pakistan’s devastating floods and earthquakes in Türkiye, remains ongoing.
The latest program has fostered deep collaboration and shared aspirations, he added.
Thanks to this initiative, TIKA envisions leaving Pakistan with a highly capable search and rescue team and a dedicated training center, paving the way for continued readiness to face potential disasters, he said.
The ceremony was also attended by Aijaz Ali Khan, former ombudsman of Sindh province; Navaid Rab Siddiqui, director general of colleges of Sindh; Syed Akhtar Meer, provincial secretary of Sindh Scouts; plus IHH disaster management trainers and members of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation urban search and rescue team.
Since 2023, TIKA has given four training sessions in Pakistan as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen disaster response capabilities. anadolu
