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| October 15, 2005 | Saturday | Ramazan 10, 1426 |
Pakistan says 38,000 dead in quake ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (AFP) The region's massive earthquake killed 38,000 people in Pakistan, injured 62,000 and left 3.3 million homeless, Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said Saturday, raising the death toll by 13,000. "It may still go up," said. "It is a colossal tragedy." He added that "some 3.3 million people have been made homeless. Their houses have either been destroyed or damaged." The number of homeless was far up from the previous estimate of 2.5 million. Officials had earlier put the death toll at 25,000 and the injured at 63,000. The October 8 earthquake, which registered 7.6 on the Richter scale, also ravaged occupied Kashmir, killing 1,329 people there, according to Indian police. Sherpao gave the new toll as the relief effort for Pakistan's worst ever natural disaster was hampered again by poor weather. The Pakistani military has not yet called off an end to the search but the top United Nations relief official Jan Egeland said Friday the "cruel reality" was that more survivors were unlikely to be found. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Rain halts vital air link to Pakistan quake victims MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Oct 15 (AFP) Heavy rain and cloud halted air operations supplying desperately needed aid to survivors of Pakistan's devastating earthquake Saturday after a cold night rocked by new tremors "Relief is going on by road but not by air," said Major Farooq Nasir, the spokesman for the army's emergency relief operations in Muzaffarabad. Thousands of destitute people huddled under plastic tents as the rain lashed the city and the surrounding mountains, the foothills of the Himalayas, where many more survivors remained cut off due to landslides and collapsed roads. Relief continued to arrive by road, and desperate survivors were seen scrambling in the rain and mud for packs of biscuits and other supplies which were being thrown from the backs of trucks. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
President launches Reconstruction Initiative ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (APP): President Pervez Musharraf today launched a special initiative for reconstruction in the earthquake affected areas by establishing the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) with the task of rebuilding the infrastructure including roads, bridges, houses, government buildings, schools and private buildings. Lt Gen Muhammad Zubair, Engineer-in-Chief Pakistan Army, has been appointed as Chairman of the Authority.(Posted @ 20:16 PST)
2,500 relief trucks, five lakh blankets sent to quake-stricken areas, Governor LAHORE, Oct 15 (APP): Punjab Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd) Khalid Maqbool today said that more than 2,500 trucks and five lakh blankets have already been sent to earthquake-hit areas.(Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Pak army relief activities continues in quake-hit areas ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (APP): Pakistan Army on Friday pulled out 47 more bodies out of rubbles of collapsed structures in quake stricken areas of Shankiyari and Jabori . As many as 240 injured were shifted to medical centres, and 150 mules were used for dispatching relief goods to inaccessible areas. Relief goods and medicines were transported to Paris, Jareb, Chhattarplane, Kaloi and Kokming areas. Army Aviation helicopters dropped 97 tonnes of relief goods through 57 flights in different quake-devastated areas.(Posted @ 20:08 PST)
Chairman Fertilizer company presents one billion cheque for quake victims RAWALPINDI, Oct 15 (APP): Chairman National Fertilizer Company Major General Zafar called on the President General Pervez Musharraf Saturday and presented a cheque of one billion rupees for the President's Relief Fund.(Posted @ 19:58 PST)
Four more bodies retrieved from debris of Margalla Tower ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (APP): Four more bodies have been recovered from the rubble of collapsed multi-storey building in Islamabad. So far 17 persons have also been pulled out alive(Posted @ 19:55 PST)
Thousands more at risk as rain hampers quake relief in Pakistan MUZAFFARABAD, Oct 15 (AFP) - Heavy rain disrupted air operations supplying desperately needed aid to survivors of Pakistan's earthquake Saturday as the confirmed death toll soared to 38,000 with 3.3 million homeless. And with 62,000 lying injured without proper medical care -- many with no care at all -- fears are growing that thousands more could die of infections and other complications in the coming days. "Several thousand people will die in the next few days. Their wounds have turned septic, they have fractures," Sean Keogh, of Britain-based Medical Relief International (Merlin), said after travelling on foot through remote areas. ”The relief operation has been badly disrupted by this bad weather. There are many places we haven't yet reached. But we hope to get to some of them today, somehow," Anwar Khan, president of Azad Kashmir, told AFP. "The snow is a problem and what we urgently need is tentage." Keogh, who had spent three days making a medical assessment on foot through the Panjkot region of the Neelum Valley, said he had little hope for thousands of injured villagers. "In one village 2,000 people need treatment. There are no roads to reach them. The only way to get to them is by helicopter. A lot of survivors will die quite soon from their infections. We're seeing the first signs of gangrene." WHO’s coordinator says: "In these conditions, people will freeze. They will suffer hypothermia".(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
Musharraf doubts more can be saved, says quake toll to rise RAWALPINDI, Oct 15 (AFP) - President Pervez Musharraf doubted Saturday that more survivors could be found from the devastating earthquake and said the death toll would likely rise beyond 38,000. "Now eight days are gone. There are still rescue operations going on. But they say technically after eight days, the chance of miracle saving is slim," Musharraf told reporters at Chaklala Airport, the main arrival point for international aid. "When we go into these villages of the Neelum and Jhelum river valleys, I am reasonably sure the death toll is going to rise," he said. Musharraf said he was "extremely grateful" for the international assistance Pakistan is receiving but said the country still needed more blankets and especially tents as winter is about to set in."Relief is reaching them," Musharraf said. "But yes, if you say, can I give you a 100 percent guarantee that it's reaching them and no wrong man is taking it, no sir, I will not give you that guarantee." "We have hundreds of thousands or millions of people affected. Obviously there will be people who don't require a tent and he's still taking a tent and running away with the damn tent. As long as 90 percent is going to the right people, if 10 percent are being turned away or someone's stealing, don't bother about that."(Posted @ 19:05 PST)
India agrees to let Pakistani helicopters enter border no-fly zone NEW DELHI, Oct 15 (AFP) - India agreed Saturday to a Pakistani request to use helicopters in a one-kilometre no-fly zone along the LoC in quake-hit Kashmir, the foreign ministry said. "We are conveying our agreement today to this request, provided permission is taken on a case-by-case basis," it said. The Indian foreign ministry denied however a Pakistani newspaper report that Pakistan had requested permission to cross the frontline to have better access to earthquake-hit villages located close to the border. “We have received no such request from Pakistan," the statement said.(Posted @ 18:55 PST)
Pakistan suffers 5 bln dollar infrastructure loss in quake: PM ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (AFP) - Pakistan has suffered about five billion dollars in losses to infrastructure from the massive earthquake and has been pledged 500 million dollars to rebuild, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Saturday. The United Nations has said it will take up to 10 years to rebuild, "but we think we can do it earlier," Aziz told a news conference . He said the country has received 500 million dollars in pledges from the international community as quake assistance, while three billion rupees (500,000 dollars) have been donated so far to Pakistan's domestic relief fund. He was speaking after Saudi Arabia announced an emergency aid package worth 133 million dollars for infrastructure projects..The earthquake killed more than 38,000 people, injured 62,000 others and left some 3.3 million people homeless .(Posted @ 18:48 PST)
Baby born amid death of quake-hit Muzaffarabad MUZAFFARABAD, Oct 15 (AFP) - One family among the millions of Kashmiris left homeless and in grief by the massive earthquake had a happy news Saturday -- a baby girl. A Kashmiri woman who lost her home and some of her relatives gave birth Saturday in a medical camp in Muzaffarabad. The baby girl, named Farheem, was born at 4:50 pm (1150 GMT) and was wrapped in a green shawl. "I'm so happy," first-time mother Nasima Bibi said. Tears rolled down the cheeks of the baby's father, Mohammed Munir, as he sat beside his wife. "The baby girl is in good health, very alert and responsive," said doctor Sabina Shibli who helped in the delivery.(Posted @ 18:38 PST)
17 foreign countries doctors leave for quake-hit areas LAHORE, Oct 15 (APP)- As many as 17 doctors and specialists arrived here from the US, Egypt, Turkey and Malaysia to help the earthquake victims, and departed for the devastated areas in Mansehra, Balakot and Azad Kashmir on Saturday.They doctors have come on the appeal of Al-Khidmat Foundation Pakistan. Islami Tehrik of Dubai has donated medicines worth Rs 350 million to Al-Khidmat. The third field hospital of the Foundation will commence relief work at Balakot from today, while two other facilities are already working in Muzaffarabad and Bagh, where 25 physicians and surgeons are treating about 120 patients daily, says a Press release. Qazi Hussain Ahmad and JI acting president, Punjab chapter, Azhar Iqbal will visit the affected areas including Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Rawalakot on Sunday to review relief operations.(Posted @ 16:32 PST)
Bad construction worsened quake tragedy in occupied Kashmir: official SRINAGAR, Oct 15 (AFP) Poor construction practices contributed to the massive scale of damage in the earthquake that devastated occupied Kashmir, the state's regional government said Saturday. "Stone masonry walls were without mortar and window areas covered more than one-third of the walls while it ought to have been less," the statement said, citing architectural experts. The 7.6-force quake on October 8 flattened or damaged more than 114,000 houses in worst-hit sectors of Uri and Tangdar. "In future, extreme care must be taken in new constructions," the statement said, offering expert guidelines to local builders. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
Saudi gives 133 million dollars aid to Pakistan RIYADH, Oct 15 (AFP) Saudi Arabia on Saturday announced an emergency aid package worth 133 million dollars for infrastructure projects in Pakistan after the devastating earthquake. "King Abdullah gave orders for a grant worth 500 million riyals (133 million dollars) to rebuild basic infrastructure installations, including schools, buildings, roads and hospitals in the brotherly Islamic republic of Pakistan," said a statement from the royal court. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
Thousands pray for earthquake victims ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (APP): People belonging to all shades of life thronged the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad to seek Allah's mercy at exactly 0852 hours today, the time the quake struck Northern Pakistan and AJK killing over 25,000 and injuring over 63,000. Thousands across the country joined the prayers which were telecast live by the state television to seek blessings of the Almighty for the injured, the homeless and those who lost their loved ones. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Minister of State for Petroleum Naseer Khan Mengal joined the masses in the special prayers. (Posted @ 12:15 PST)
Quake victims in exodus from razed Muzaffarabad MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Oct 15 (AFP) With the rich packing up their belongings and the poor piling onto the roofs of buses, many Muzaffarabad residents have only one plan a week after the savage earthquake -- leaving. The once-picturesque mountain town continues to empty. Cars head out with dozens of bags, televisions, refrigerators and whatever else could be pulled out of razed houses. At the bus station, poor men, women and children rush to get the next ride. Some, if they can't, embark on the long journey by foot. The usual direction is Rawalpindi. Alamgir Paracha had to fight for a place on the bus. "My house was destroyed, 22 members of my family died. I'll never come back to Muzaffarabad, never. It's my ancestral home but I only have six people left in my family and I want them to live," says the 26-year-old mechanic. Mujtaba Hassan, a bus driver here, says that each day around 10 buses, each carrying 45 people, and around 40 vans with 18 passengers each head from Muzaffarabad. And each time there's chaos to find a seat that costs only 100 rupees. "It's dangerous to stay here with all of the aftershocks and the risk of disease with thousands of dead under the rubble. We'll work out what to do later. We just have to escape Muzaffarabad," another survivor said. (Posted @ 11:55 PST)
Quake survivors at risk of hypothermia, gangrene: WHO MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Oct 15 (AFP) Survivors of the earthquake are at grave risk of hypothermia and gangrenous infection with less than a week to save them, an official from the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. The WHO coordinator said survivors cut off in remote villages could die from hypothermia after hours of heavy rain and fresh snowfall in the highest mountains. "In these conditions, people will freeze" he said. "There is a small window of less than week to get to them. Those who are critically injured have very little chance," he said. But the rain has slowed the number of people who can be evacuated to hospitals in Islamabad and other cities, and many of the injured had been waiting for days to get proper care. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
Tent villages return to Pakistan after massive earthquake ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (AFP) Pakistan began setting up tent villages in its major cities for the millions of people displaced by last weekend's earthquake, in a sad reminder of the Afghan refugee camps here in the 1980s. With winter fast approaching, Pakistan had already set up three tent villages: one in the capital Islamabad and two in its twin city Rawalpindi to accommodate some 20,000 people, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said. More than 3,000 people were evacuated to Islamabad and other major towns to ensure they get medical care, officials said. Tent villages will eventually be established in Kashmir and North West Frontier Province. Pakistan was desperately short of tents in other parts of the country. UN relief chief Jan Egeland said that Pakistan still needed tens of thousands of tents in the affected areas, although, ironically, it is also a major tent manufacturer. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Quake makes Kashmiris refugees twice over MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Oct 15 (AFP) Many of them hoped for a new life after escaping years of upheaval in occupied Kashmir into Azad Kashmir, but after the weekend's huge earthquake they now face greater hardship and even greater grief. "My parents brought me here when I was one year old to get away and I have lived here all my life. Pakistan is my home," said Shah Dab. He said about 500 people died in his camp, out of around 800 who lived there. Before they suffered at the hands of nature, the refugees were victims of the dispute over Kashmir that has poisoned relations between Pakistan and India since independence from Britain in 1947. (Posted @ 11:15 PST)
Storms and cold promise more Kashmir quake misery MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Oct 15 (Reuters) A week after South Asia's strongest earthquake in 100 years, forecast thunderstorms and cold promised more misery and disruption for efforts to provide food and shelter for more than a million homeless. The 48-hour weather forecast for the region at the foot of the Himalayas was for isolated thunderstorms followed by a cold snap that will bring night-time temperatures to as low as three degrees Centigrade (37 degrees Fahrenheit). Strong aftershocks, including a large one of 5.3 magnitude Friday morning at 2 a.m. (2100 GMT), have added fear to uncertainty about the future and sent nervous residents of ruined mountain towns running into streets in the middle of the night. Meteorological officials said there were 70 aftershocks in a 24-hour period between Wednesday and Thursday, and the seismic activity was likely to continue for months, maybe years. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
| All Branches of The State Bank of Pakistan |
| All Treasuries |
| All Branches of National Bank of Pakistan |
| All Branches of Habib Hank of Pakistan |
| All Branches of United Bank of Pakistan |
| All Branches of Muslim Commercial Bank of Pakistan |
| All Branches of Allied Bank of Pakistan |
| All Branches of Bank Al Falah and |
| All other scheduled Banks within Pakistan |
Donations, both from domestic and international donors can be deposited in the above branches of the Banks. Donations from abroad can be deposited at all the branches of above banks in foreign countries where such branches exist.
In other foreign countries where these branches do not exist donations will be recevied by the Pakistan Missions and remitted to the State Bank of Pakistan.
All proceeds recevied in the name of the Fund will be credited to the public account of the Federal Government under following Head of Account:-
| "G 12 Special Deposit Fund |
| G 121 - Relief Funds |
| G 12130 " President's Relief Fund for Earthquake Victims-2005" |
Further information and details can be obtained from the
following telephone and fax numbers:-
Phone No : 051-9208100, 051-9202528,
Fax No : 051-9207635
Important Emergency Numbers in Pakistan
Prime Minister House Earthquake Relief Cell: 051-9213891, 051-9222666.
Disaster Relief Cell, PM Secretariat: 051-920-6111
Crisis Managment Cell, Commander 111 Brigade, Rawalpindi: 051-926-7596
Foreign Office Emergency Coordination Centre Phone: 051-920-7663, Fax: 051-922-4205, 051-922-4206
Disaster Relief Cell, PM Secretariat: 051-920-6111
Crisis Managment Cell, Commander 111 Brigade, Rawalpindi: 051-926-7596
Foreign Office Emergency Coordination Centre Phone: 051-920-7663, Fax: 051-922-4205, 051-922-4206
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