• CENTCOM chief Gen Kurilla telephones COAS Gen Bajwa.
• CENTCOM is sending an assessment team to Islamabad.
• Monsoon rains have claimed at least 1,190 lives since June.

WASHINGTON: The United States is conducting a military aid mission to flood-devastated Pakistan, the US armed forces’ Central Command said Friday.

“CENTCOM is sending an assessment team to Islamabad to determine what potential support DoD (the US Department of Defense) can provide […] as part of the United States’ assistance to the flooding crisis in Pakistan,” spokesman Colonel Joe Buccino said in a statement.

The decision followed a telephone conversation Thursday between CENTCOM commander General Erik Kurilla and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the spokesman said.

The United States is the top arms supplier to Pakistan’s military, but relations between the two countries are often rocky.

Monsoon rains have submerged a third of Pakistan, claiming at least 1,190 lives since June and unleashing powerful floods that have washed away swathes of vital crops and damaged or destroyed more than a million homes.

Authorities have blamed climate change, which is increasing the frequency and strength of extreme weather events.

It follows the United States’ decision to provide an additional $30 million in life-saving humanitarian assistance to support people and communities affected by severe flooding in Pakistan.

In response to the Pakistani government’s request for assistance, the US is prioritising urgently needed food support, safe water, sanitation and hygiene improvements, financial help, and shelter assistance.

This support will save lives and reduce suffering among the most vulnerable affected communities.

In addition to the $30 million in urgently needed humanitarian assistance announced today, the US also provided over $1.1 million in grants and project support earlier this month to ensure direct assistance reaches those communities most impacted and to help mitigate and prevent the effects of future floods.