ISLAMABAD, Oct 15: Federal Minister for Education Lt-Gen (retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi has said that Pakistan Army has sufficient number of helicopters but all of them cannot be utilized in the ongoing rescue and relief operations in the earthquake-stricken areas.
Speaking in the National Assembly here on Saturday, Mr Qazi defended the army against opposition’s criticism that it gave a “delayed response” to the earthquake and said that disaster relief and crisis management were the responsibilities of civil administration.
“Nowhere in the world crisis management and disaster relief are the responsibilities of the army. These functions are carried out by the civil administration,” said Mr Qazi, who is a former director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The minister said that army was using 25 helicopters in the relief operation. He said “gun-fitted” helicopters could only be used in wars. He said all cargo helicopters were being used in the relief and rescue operations.
Mr Qazi said as the officials of the civil administrations, nazims and naib nazims and army all had suffered casualties in the disaster and, therefore, it would not be justified to criticize them for not playing any role in the rescue operation.
“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,” he said. Despite suffering huge losses, he said, the army was actively taking part in the rescue and relief operations. He said helicopters were being used in inaccessible areas beyond Muzaffarabad and Balakot.
About the criticism by the opposition members that the rulers were not giving correct figures of casualties, he said the government could only give “confirmed figures” after a proper count of bodies. He said that relief operation was being carried out in 80 per cent of the disaster-hit areas.
People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) MNA Nayyar Bokhari asked the government to declare the flats in sector G-6 in Islamabad as shelter homes for the affected people, who had come to the capital city after demolition of their houses in the earthquake. He said some 200 flats had been lying vacant for the past eight years and when some earthquake victims tried to enter these flats, the city administration used police force against them.
Ruling party MNA M.P. Bhandara opposed the idea of shifting earthquake victims to official flats and residences in Islamabad, saying that they should be provided shelter in tents.
He was of the view that any such decision could cause problems in the future as these people might not be ready to vacate the houses after living there for some time.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly passed a unanimous resolution “thanking the international community for extending cooperation and support to Pakistan” in the rescue and relief operations after the disaster.
The resolution was read out by PPP MNA Raja Pervez Ashraf after Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri made a brief statement on the floor of the house on the issue of foreign assistance and help.
The foreign minister said the world community had extended exemplary cooperation to Pakistan in this difficult time. “We are grateful to the international community for reacting so fast and sending teams for our help,” the foreign minister said.
Mr Kasuri told the house that foreign ministers of some 50 countries had talked to him on telephone to express solidarity with the Pakistani people. Similarly, he said, a large number of world leaders had sent messages and made telephone calls to Gen Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to express sympathies over the disaster.
The foreign minister said that US President George Bush personally visited the Pakistan embassy on Friday to express condolence over the deaths of so many people in the disaster. He said the Jordanian king also visited Islamabad for four hours to express condolences personally.
Mr Kasuri also praised the foreign rescue teams which, he said, saved several lives in various parts of the country. He said the UK team reached Islamabad within few hours of the tragedy and it went straight to the collapsed Margalla Towers, instead of going to the hotel. He said it would be difficult for him to name each and every country which had extended cooperation and help to Pakistan and sent various teams.
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan said the government would not give permission to adopt orphaned children and it would itself look after them. He said the decision had been taken to provide security to the children and to prevent their possible smuggling.
Federal Minister for Local Government Abdul Razzaq Thaheem said that these children would be kept in special SOS villages.
Samia Rahil Qazi of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) criticized Gen Pervez Musharraf for convening the meeting of the controversial National Security Council (NSC) at a time when the nation needed unity.
