London, August 14
More than £300 million of aid for victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake has been diverted by President Asif Ali Zardari’s government, raising fears that this will deter donors coming to the aid of flood devastated people in the country.

“As the money was not forthcoming, schools, hospitals, buses and roads planned to come up with money given by foreign governments and international aid groups remain unbuilt almost five years after the earthquake which killed 80,000 and left four million people homeless,” The Daily Telegraph reported today quoting senior Pakistani officials.

The damning report comes as Pakistani leadership is clamouring for millions of dollars in international aid to cope with the country’s worst ever calamity in which 20 million people are affected by floods.

The paper said international donors gave £3.5 billion to rebuild vast swaths of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces after the earthquake destroyed the region’s infrastructure.

However, senior Pakistani officials said more than £300 million given in aid has yet to be handed over to the country’s Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA).

Telegraph cited a senior ERRA official as saying that they were told in March 2009 that £90 million was being diverted from their budget to other government projects. “When we have the money we will pay you,” officials told ERRA directors. In June again their budget was cut from Rs 43 billion to just Rs 10 billion.

The diversion of money has come in for strong condemnation by the Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who said, “There’s reluctance, even people in this country even people in this country are not giving generously into this flood fund because they’re not too sure the money will be spent honestly.” The paper said it had surveyed Balakot town, one of the worst affected in 2005 earthquake where 25,000 people died and the people were told that their township would be rebuilt.

“But despite promises that the new town would be completed by last month, not a single road has been completed nor building construction began on the site of new Balakot,” The Telegraph said.

Britain has given £86 million in aid, including £50 million to the country’s Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority.

Britain’s Department for International Development spokesman said: “The British Government has made clear it is reviewing all its programmes to ensure that our aid is transparent, accountable and helps those who need it most. — PTI

Beijing, August 14
China will observe a national day of mourning tomorrow in memory of those killed in the last week’s massive floods in northwest Gansu province, even as the toll in the calamity rose to 1239 while 505 are still missing.

While, 38 people remain traceless after rain triggered landslides ravaged several towns in south west China’s Sichuan Province today.

Gushing flood waters destroyed buildings and cut communication networks with heavy rain triggered landslides in several towns of Wenchuan County, where an 8-magnitude earthquake claimed almost 70,000 lives on May 12, 2008.

Chinese government has declared national mourning tomorrow during which flags across the country and its embassies all over the world would fly half-mast to mourn the victims of the devastating mudslide in the northwestern Gansu Province.

The mudslide in the Tibetan majority Zhouqu County killed at least 1239 with 505 still listed missing.

Meanwhile, China continued to reel under heavy floods as 38 people were listed missing after rain-triggered floods and landslides ravaged Wenchuan County in southwest China’s Sichuan Province early today. — PTI

General Sarath Fonseka omn Saturday stripped off his rank, medals and pension after President Mahinda Rajapaksa ratified the verdict of his conviction by a court martial, a sentence which was termed as a "unacceptable and a humorous joke" by the former Sri Lankan Army chief.

The court martial had found Fonseka guilty of dabbling in politics while heading the country's military last year.

"The President in his capacity of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces has confirmed the findings and the punishment handed down by the first court martial," a military official said.

By the decree signed by Rajapaksa, Fonseka will lose his right to wear rank, medals he has won in his 40 year long career in the Army, as well as his pension.

Fonseka was pronounced guilty by a three-member military court of trying to secure place in a political party while in active service.

The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) the party from which Fonseka won a seat in Parliament at April’s general election has called the findings of the tribunal one sided and said it is unacceptable. He will continue to hold the parliamentary seat despite the dismissal from the army, which he served from 1970 to 2009.

In his first comment on his dishonourable discharge the ex-general said, "it was a joke", Daily Mirror online quoted him as saying.

In comments forwarded through his wife Anoma, the only four star general of the island nation said, the verdict was handed down by a lower ranking military officials, which was not the practices in the military.

"It is unacceptable and a humorous joke," Fonseka was quoted as saying by his wife.

His Democratic National Alliance party MP Anura Kumara Dassanayaka said, his organisation did not accept the ruling as it was handed out when non of the defence lawyers were present.

Although Friday's military court ruling did not hand out any prison term for the former General, Fonseka, according to officials, will continue to remain in prison.

He is also being tried by another court martial for corruption in defence deals. If he is convicted in this case he faces a jail term ranging from three months to five years.

The 59-year-old General was pronounced guilty yesterday by the military court, which began deliberations five months back.

(With inputs from PTI)

Gunmen shot dead at least 16 persons of Punjabi-origin in two separate incidents of ethnic killings in the insurgency-hit Balochistan province in southwest Pakistan today.

In the first incident, a group of gunmen riding motorcycles intercepted a passenger bus going from Lahore to Quetta in Aab-e-Gum area this morning.

They asked the passengers to alight from the vehicle and show their identity cards. The gunmen then separated Baloch and non-Baloch passengers and opened fire at 15 persons after identifying them as residents of Punjab province.

Ten persons were killed and five more injured in the attack, the police said. The bodies and the injured were taken to the Civil Hospital in provincial capital Quetta.

In the second attack, gunmen shot dead six workers from Multan in Punjab in a house in Khiljiabad Colony of Quetta this afternoon. Three other workers were injured in the incident.

In both incidents, the attackers managed to escape and no arrests have been made by the police.

The police described the attacks as incidents of targeted killing on the occasion of Pakistan’s Independence Day. No group claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Baloch nationalist groups engaged in an insurgency have attacked people of Punjabi origin on numerous occasions.

(With inputs from PTI)