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Reconstruction may take five years: Pak PM
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Bodies of over 200 soldiers still under debris
UN says no to tent city in PoK
Over 3,000 militants either killed or injured: Shabir
6 Pak army men killed in chopper crash
Seven parties to
boycott Nepal poll
G-20 calls for stable oil prices
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Reconstruction may take five years: Pak PM
Islamabad, October 16 “The number one priority is shelter and tents, tents, tents,” he emphasised while briefing journalists on relief efforts at the PM House. He said shelter was a major concern, particularly in the wake of the snowfall received by the Northern Areas in the past 48 hours. Mr Aziz said plans were under way to set up tent villages in and around the affected areas or other districts, including Haripur and Attock. These villages would also have health and school facilities, he added. Noting that Pakistan was a major tent producer, he said the government had told manufacturers to forget about the export orders for the moment. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees would house half a million people in time, he added. When asked if these tent villages would be sufficient in the harsh weather conditions, the Prime Minister said people would be encouraged to come down from mountainous areas. He said many people did not want to leave their areas because their homes and valuable were there. While the assessment of the damage and cost of reconstruction was still being done, the Prime Minister said the cost of infrastructure could be around $5 billion. Commenting on the 10-year timeline given by the UN for the reconstruction process to complete, he said: “We think it can be done faster than that.” His assessment was that it could be possible within five years to provide “even better (infrastructure) than what they had before”. When his attention was drawn to the fact that many people were desperate to come down but were stranded for want of transportation, Mr Aziz said they were used to walking down. Later, he conceded that ferrying the people was one of the challenges the government was facing and said that 500 vehicles had been hired for the purpose. He said the government had so far provided 18,000 tents and 110,000 blankets to victims and added that relief efforts that had initially been focusing on towns were now zeroing in on outlying areas and villages. |
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Bodies of over 200 soldiers still under debris
Islamabad, October 16 “Bodies of our more than 200 troops are still lying under the debris. Our complete battalions have perished and over 750 soldiers are seriously injured,” Pakistan’s Education Minister and former ISI chief Gen Javed Ashraf Qazi (retd) said in the National Assembly, rejecting pposition criticism that the Army failed to rush relief and aid to affected people fast. The Pakistan army, which has a large presence in the PoK, said over 400 of its soldiers were killed and 750 injured in the PoK which was severely hit by the earthquake. Qazi’s response came as opposition politician Mehmood Khan Achakzai criticised the army’s handling of relief and rescue operations, and said considering that army had taken central role in every organisation of the government it was solely to blame for the “chaos” in the affected areas. Achakzai, who heads the the Pakhtoon Khwah Milli Awami Party said government buildings, including schools and colleges had collapsed like packs of cards which implied that contracts were given to “corrupt” people who used sub-standard materials in construction. He said thousands of injured people were not receiving medical treatment in the worst-affected areas. There was also a dire need for the government to restore law and order in the devastated areas. — PTI
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UN says no to tent city in PoK
Islamabad, October 16 UN has informed the government that it will not entertain any plan for the establishment of permanent tent villages anywhere in the country to settle the affected populace nor will fund it, Pakistani Daily ‘The Post’ quoted a UN relief official as saying. Establishing such huge tent village complexes would not be a sustainable solution. We are only planning to settle the displaced people where they have come from, he said. UN experience shows sustaining large tent villages would only create problems rather than solving them. UNHCR Representative, Michael Swack confirmed that the UN had no such plan under its active consideration. “Our priority is to ensure that relief should reach remote areas to keep people from moving from there. Normally, people prefer to stay at their towns,” he said adding “we will only assist swift yet temporary settlements and will offer help for provision of water, sanitation and other basic facilities there.” — PTI
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Over 3,000 militants either killed or injured: Shabir
London, October 16 “Despite all the claims (by the Pakistan government) of dismantling ‘mujahideen’ training camps, open secret was that they were fully operational, and had more than 3,000 militants from various nationalities,” he said. These camps were located in various places in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and in areas of Balakot and Mansehra, Choudhry claimed in a statement here last night. “Unlike what happens in this part of the world the natural tragedy when it struck, didn’t distinguish between a man with gun and a civilian. They, like other civilians, were either killed, injured or were under the rubble. At last, to relief of some, camps were dismantled by force of nature.” — PTI
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6 Pak army men killed in chopper crash
Islamabad, October 16 Chief military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan told reporters here that the the ill-fated helicopter lost control with the air traffic control minutes before its crash on Saturday night. He said the wreckage of the chopper has been found in Bagh area, he said. A total of 58 local and foreign helicopters are taking part in the relief operations. As two more Japanese helicopters arrived here yesterday, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz launched a fresh appeal for additional two dozen helicopters for accelarating relief work in remote areas, where thousands of people are desperately waiting for help.
— UNI |
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Seven parties to
boycott Nepal poll
Kathmandu, October 16 “Elections were declared suppressing peoples’ rights and banning the Press. This is unconstitutional and we will actively boycott it,” Kantipur daily quoted Mr Koirala as saying. The King had directed the Election Commission to hold parliamentary election by 2007 in his message on the occasion of Dasehra last week. The commission has already announced the election of municipalities for February. Only the elected government could declare elections not the King, he said. The parties would participate in the election held under the constitutional and the elected government, Mr Koirala added. “The King is trying to deceive the people by announcing poll on one hand and muzzling the press on the other,” the Nepali Congress President said. Mr Koirala warned the King to mend his “unconstitutional ways or face
consequences.— UNI |
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G-20 calls for stable oil prices
Xianghe (China), October 16 “We are concerned that long-lasting high and volatile oil prices can increase inflationary pressures, slow down growth and cause instability in the global economy,” they said in a joint statement. “We agreed to strengthen our cooperation on these issues and stress the need to increase investment, production and refining capacities and to enhance dialogue between oil suppliers and consumers through the relevant fora, such as the International Energy Forum (IEF).”
— AFP |
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In video: Musharraf seeks international help to reconstruct
