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| October 14, 2005 | Friday | Ramzan 9, 1426 |
Massive reconstruction plan on the cards
ISLAMABAD, Oct 13: The Planning Commission is preparing a ‘massive reconstruction plan’ that requires huge resources to be sought from Pakistan’s development partners and international financial institutions for the earthquake-affected areas, says a senior government official.
“This massive reconstruction plan will be implemented by getting soft loans and grants from our external friends and the international financial institutions,” said deputy chairman of Planning Commission Dr Akram Sheikh.
He told Dawn that reconstruction work needed billions of dollars and not billions of rupees to build new cities and towns in the earthquake-affected areas in Azad Kashmir and northern areas of the NWFP.
New resources, he said, were being promised by bilateral partners and international donor agencies and a number of issues in this behalf were expected to be finalized next week.
“We are proposing to the president and the prime minister to undertake a comprehensive new reconstruction plan rather than just going for the rehabilitation of affected areas with a view to also developing tourism on modern lines,” Dr Sheikh said.
He added that in the last couple of meetings, President Gen Pervez Musharraf had agreed with the Planning Commission that there should be no haphazard growth and that the reconstruction should be carried out under a well-thought-out plan. This will not only provide jobs to the people in the affected areas but will also greatly help develop tourism in Azad Kashmir and Hazara district of the NWFP, he added.
Responding to a question, he said over 5 million people had been affected by last week’s devastating earthquake and the stricken population needed huge moral and financial support.
He said he would soon be visiting Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Balakot and other affected areas to measure the extent of damage to the infrastructure and people at large.
The rebuilding process, the deputy chairman said, could take time but will ultimately greatly improve living conditions in the affected areas.
He said the whole system had been collapsed due to the massive earthquake that required timely reconstruction and rehabilitation work. He regretted that there was no water, electricity and other facilities in the stricken areas.
Dr Sheikh said that short- and long-term development projects will be started in Azad Kashmir and Hazara district to mitigate the suffering of the people.
Replying to a question, he said the country’s resources were insufficient to meet the requirements and that the external financial support was necessary to achieve the objectives of reconstruction and rehabilitation in the affected areas.
“We have to handle the situation very carefully so that people’s suffering is not prolonged,” the deputy chairman of Planning Commission said, adding that the government will provide maximum resources as promised by the president and the prime minister to ensure early completion of reconstruction activities.
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