Billionaire Saudi Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal on Sunday visited the quake-hit capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and announced he would set up 20 schools and donate a further one million dollars.
“Twenty primary schools will be opened in Muzaffarabad and other areas,” Talal, flanked by Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, told reporters after attending a military briefing on relief efforts.
The Saudi prince also announced a donation of one million dollars. He has already announced seven million dollars as his personal contribution for the rehabilitation of earthquake victims, the Associated Press of Pakistan said.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that a first consignment of aid for Pakistani quake survivors donated by the Saudi public left Riyadh on Sunday headed for the Gulf port of Dammam for shipment to Pakistan.
The consignment comprises 100 containers of tents, blankets and foodstuffs, SPA said, adding that it would be followed by other consignments of food and medical aid.
Saudi Arabia launched a drive last week to raise funds for victims of the Pakistan quake, after it and other oil-rich Gulf Arab states pledged millions of dollars in aid and airlifted large amounts of relief assistance.
More than 54,000 people have been confirmed dead in Pakistan, mainly in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and around 1,300 in the Indian-controlled part of the Himalayan region since the 7.6 magnitude quake of October 8.
The United Nations secured aid pledges worth more than half a billion dollars at an emergency conference in Geneva on Wednesday. But UN officials in Islamabad have said much of that was for the future and ignored the need for immediate cash.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said Pakistan would need billions of dollars for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the quake victims, many of them at serious risk because of the approaching winter in the rugged region.
Helicopter relief operations have continued uninterrupted for the past week but a wave of aftershocks has added to worries for the survivors.
