Pakistan donates money for Van

Pakistan donated money to Turkey on Thursday as an indication of loyalty, after receiving aids from Turkey in the aftermath of a disastrous flood suffered by the country two years ago. The $1 billion cheque was yesterday presented by Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab in Pakistan, to Umit Ozturk, chairman of the Turkish charity "Kimse Yok Mu," which will use the donation for the construction of a community center in Turkey's quake-hit province of Van. Sharif said that $1 million was not a significant amount of money, but the love that Pakistanis have for Turkey was actually important. "I hope that brotherhood between the two countries will be strengthened further with strong commercial relations. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan played a significant role in improving relations between the two countries. I want to express my gratitude to him," Sharif added. Van Governor Munir Karaloglu also made a speech, saying, "We love Pakistanis without expecting anything in return. And we believe that Pakistanis also love us in the same way. When an earthquake or flood occurs in Pakistan, we feel it deep inside of us and we rush to help them as a nation. We have seen after the earthquakes in Van that Pakistanis feel the same way, or even more. They ran here to help us and this [center] is a sign of that."