AJK PM lauds Pakistan’s role in rebuilding lives of 2005 quake victims

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan on Saturday said the harrowing memories of the deadly earthquake that shook AJK on October 8, 2005 were still fresh in the minds of the people.

Addressing a function held to pay homage to the quake victims, the PM said that the way the Pakistani nation came forward to help the Kashmiri quake victims was something unprecedented and unforgettable.

“The people of Pakistan opened their treasures and donated wholeheartedly to rebuild lives of the homeless quake survivors,” he said, adding that the international community’s generous support also proved handy to restore normal life in the quick-devastated areas of the state.

Praying for the victims, Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan said that a monument would be built in memory of the martyrs of the 2005 earthquake, in which national events would be held in the future.

Terming death as an inescapable reality, the PM said, “Being Muslims, we should always be prepared for the death. Tragedies do happen, so all that we need is the planning to deal with such natural calamities,” he said, adding that development of the state and securing the future of our next generations were his government’s top priorities.

He said there was a dire need for creating public awareness to cope with any natural calamity. “Emergency kits should be mandatory in all government vehicles to avoid any accidents and training courses required to deal with natural calamities should be made mandatory in civil defense, schools and colleges,” he added.

Addressing the ceremony, Minister for State Disaster Management Authority Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim said that due to the terrible earthquake of October 8, 2005, millions of people were displaced and thousands of buildings collapsed in a few seconds.

“The earthquake caused a loss of Rs124 billion to the infrastructure in Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” he said, adding that after this apocalyptic tragedy, the spirit with which the international community in general and the people of Pakistan and the Pakistan Army in particular participated in the relief, rescue, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities of the victims of the earthquake was worthy of being written in golden letters in history.

Kashmiris, he said, would never forget their benefactors who contributed generously to heal the wounds of the earthquake victims and shared their pain during the testing times. “The earthquake gave us an opportunity to correct the mistakes made in the past and play our role in a better future,” he said, adding that the establishment of the NDMA at the federal level and SDMA at the Azad Jammu and Kashmir level was an important development in this regard.

“Despite limited resources, this organisation (SDMA) has played a vital role in providing timely relief and rehabilitation to the flood victims in 2010, 2012 and 2014, Mirpur earthquake victims in 2019 and the cross LoC firing victims,” he said.

He said that the capacity building of SDMA at the state level and 1122 and DDMA at the district level was being carried out with the support of the World Bank.

The function organised by the State Disaster Management Authority in memory of the martyrs of October 8, 2005 was also attended and addressed by the government ministers, including Khawaja Farooq Ahmed, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Nisar Ansar Abdali, Deputy Speaker Chaudhry Riaz Ahmed, Chief Secretary Azad Kashmir Muhammad Usman Chachar, secretaries of the government, heads of departments, NGOs, students, civil and military officials and others.