Turkish Red Crescent lends helping hand to Pakistan

MURREE, Pakistan

Turkey's state aid agency distributed food parcels to 200 families in the Pakistani northern town of Murree, officials told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

Ibrahim Carlos Camilo, head of the Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) Pakistan delegation, said the group wants to deliver 2,000 food parcels across the country during the holy month of Ramadan which ends in early June.

"We delivered the gifts sent to Pakistan by the Turkish people in this Ramadan as well," Camilo said of the 44-pound (20-kilogram) boxes.

Apart from food aid, Kizilay also wants to organize iftar, or fast-breaking programs for those in need and provide clothes to orphans, he said.

Fasting from dawn to dusk during Ramadan is a pillar of Islam.

The agency announced earlier that during Ramadan, it will reach 14.7 million people in need in Turkey and abroad.

Kizilay is the largest humanitarian organization in Turkey, with an international network to help nations in need.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev