IMR and the President of Pakistan

IMANA Team Advises President of Pakistan

On August 20th the IMANA Relief team returned to Islamabad after spending a week in the Charsadda and Nowshera districts providing desperately needed medical and humanitarian aid. Mr. Asif Zardari the President of Pakistan invited the team for a debriefing meeting that very afternoon. The meeting was attended by many high ranking military and governmental officials. Though the attached article does not go into specifics, the meeting was not a simple meet and greet photo-op session by any means. The key message, that was conveyed to the President was coordination and collaboration between the central government, provincial governments, and military.

The IMANA team recommended that the President declare a national disaster and consider implementing a central emergency command structure under the military. This central command would then direct all relief efforts (govermental and civillian-NGO) and would establish similar command posts within each individual province. The President noted the recommendations and was extremely grateful to the individual volunteers of IMANA and praised the Organization for its' dedicated work.

IMANA holds no political biases or and felt that its' relief team was very well versed in disaster management and brought along a wealth of experience to Pakistan putting IMANA in a key role to assist in disaster management. The sole goal for the team was not to meet President Zardari but rather advise and debrief the Head of State. The meeting lasted approximately one hour. The relief committee looks forward to the implementation of several key points that were noted by President Zardari and his staff and are extremely thankful to him for inviting the team and giving them an opportunity to truly make a difference.


Please stay tuned for further updates and photos from IMANA Relief


Dr. Ismail A. Mehr
IMANA Relief Committee Chair
IMANA General Secretary