ISLAMABAD, Oct 30: The opposition on Sunday called upon the government to take it along in the process of reconstruction of earthquake-stricken areas of the country ‘to get a certificate of transparency’ in the management of funds provided by international donors.
Representatives of different opposition parties, while speaking at a National Conference on Reconstruction and Rehabilitation, organized by the International Human Rights Observer (IHRO), said that the opposition and parliament should not be ignored in that phase.
People’s Party Parliamentarians Secretary-General Raja Pervez Ashraf called for formation of a joint government-opposition supreme committee in that regard.
He said the reconstruction was an uphill task and the opposition must be involved in it. “A national spirit exists in the country for relief and rescue operations and reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts. All we need is to put in an effective mechanism in place to channelize this spirit.”
He said the PPPP had decided to refrain from uncalled for criticism against the government and scoring political points at that stage.
He underlined the need for making all out efforts to collect credible data on the losses caused by the devastating October 8 earthquake.
Mr Ashraf said there was an enormous challenge ahead as the quake had damaged some 3.3 million houses. “Shelter is the major problem as a large number of people have been rendered homeless.”
Awami National Party leader Afrasiab Khattak said there was a missing link of coordination in the rehabilitation efforts. He added that the local community should be involved in the process of identifying victims of the natural disaster to ensure that the aid reached the right people.
He criticized the act of giving a paramount role in the relief effort to the army, saying: “How can you leave huge funds at the disposal of an institution whose budget cannot be debated in parliament?”
He said the supremacy of parliament must be maintained and criticized the government for seeking help of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation without taking parliament into confidence.
Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) leader Kunwar Qutbuddin said the distribution channel should comprise the MNAs, MPAs and nazims concerned, besides NGOs and notables of the affected area, to ensure that the work progressed in right direction.
He said the government should take along the opposition to maintain credibility of aid distribution mechanism.
He said there was a need for self-reliance instead of depending on foreign aid and recalled that 1.5 million families were settled at the time of the independence when no resources were available.
Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights Wasi Zafar defended the decision to give the command of relief operations to the army, saying the army had been given the role as it was an organized institution.
“No one else has resources to carry out the job. NGOs do not have helicopters to do it.”
Muttahida Qaumi Movement MNA Abdul Khaliq Khanzada said the reconstruction and rehabilitation would require an estimated amount of $6 billion whereas the pledges so far made amounted to $1 billion only.
He called for a comprehensive seismic survey of the big cities of the country.
The IHRO president said the main objective of holding the conference was to unite all the helping hands at one table to find best ways and means to help the victims and rebuild the nation.
He announced the launch of an ‘international coalition for reconstruction and rehabilitation’ ad an advocacy and advisory forum to point out weaknesses in the efforts for reconstruction and rehabilitation.
