ISLAMABAD   -   Prime Minister Shehbaz Shar­if on Thursday acknowledged the “empathy and compas­sion” of United Nations spe­cial envoy Angelina Jolie, who is currently on a visit to Pa­kistan in solidarity with the flood-affected people.

“Pakistan thanks Angelina Jolie, a special UN envoy, and other unsung heroes for becoming the voice of millions of people whose lives and livelihoods have been de­stroyed by raging floodwa­ter,” he said in a tweet.

The prime minister said, “We will forever remember their empathy and compas­sion for suffering humanity.”

Hollywood actress Angeli­na Jolie visited the flood-hit areas and urged the interna­tional community to do more as millions of people are in trouble in the flood-hit areas of Pakistan. During her vis­it to the National Flood Re­sponse Coordination Centre (NFRCC) late Wednesday, Jolie said that she has never seen anything like this disaster before. Besides Jolie, re­nowned Islamic scholar Mufti Menk and Turkish actor Celal Al also visit­ed the flood-affected areas of Pakistan and extended assistance to the fami­lies who suffered the devastation. Ac­tress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie has become the voice and ambassador of the flood affectees who are looking towards the world after virtually los­ing everything and suddenly finding themselves under the open sky.

Jolie arrived in Pakistan this week to help raise attention to the plight of communities affected by the devastat­ing floods. The monsoon rains and re­cord flooding have badly hit the coun­try, killing more than 1,500 people and affecting more than 33 million.

Her visit, arranged by the Interna­tional Rescue Committee, is meant to “gain understanding of the situation, and to hear from people affected di­rectly about their needs, and about steps to prevent such sufferings in the future,” the international aid or­ganisation said. Jolie has visited Paki­stan a number of times before, most notably in 2005 following a devas­tating earthquake, which killed more than 80,000 people.

“I am here as a friend to Pakistan and the many warm friends and rela­tionships I have here and will continue to return. My heart is very much with people at this time,” she said in a clip.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before. I came first because of the generosity that the Pakistani peo­ple have shown to the people of Af­ghanistan over the years as a host country,” she added.