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| October 29, 2005 | Saturday | Ramzan 24, 1426 |
British MP asks world to do more for quake victims
ISLAMABAD, Oct 28: Member of the British parliament Lord Nazir Ahmed has said the international community needs to do much more to avoid another wave of human catastrophe in the quake-hit areas of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.
“It is time for the international community to wake up and desist from a prejudice on the basis of colour of the victims of natural disaster,” he said while speaking at a press conference on Friday.
The chairman of the UK-based Islamic Help, Mohammad Masood Alam Khan Al-Azhari, and country manager, Muslim Hands International, Sahibzada Sayed Ziaul Hasan were also present on the occasion.
Lord Nazir said it was a human tragedy and the victims must be helped on humanitarian grounds irrespective of their colour.
He quoted UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as saying that the magnitude of the earthquake disaster in Pakistan was more than that of tsunami and pointed out that the world community had pledged $13 billion for the post tsunami relief efforts.
He said the emergency aid given by the world community for the victims of the quake in Pakistan was too little.
“Billions of dollars are needed for relief operations in Pakistan. This can be done by the United Nations and the international community.
He said the British Rescue team was the first among foreign teams to reach the affected areas in Pakistan. He said the United Kingdom had so far pledged 33 million pounds in support of the relief operations in Pakistan. He said the UK-based Islamic charities had also raised some 20 million pounds.
He said he had come with a plane-load of relief goods valuing 4.5 million pounds.
Lord Nazir said he would launch sheltered one scheme in Bagh on Saturday. He said the usable material from the debris would be used to construct sheltered homes under the scheme while Muslim Hands would bear the cost of iron sheets, cement and other material required. He said initially five houses were to be built at a very low cost.
He said on his return to the United Kingdom he would persuade Kashmiri as well as Pakistani expatriates to support construction of at least one house in the affected areas.
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