ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that the presence of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) forces in Pakistan does not pose a security threat to the country.
“They are here to help us. Even if they are in uniform, it should not be a cause of concern,” he told newsmen after addressing elected representatives from the quake-hit Mansehra.
He said the Nato forces in Pakistan were serving the cause of humanity, adding that humanity transcends all boundaries.
Pakistan is and will remain a sovereign country, he said.
He said the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations and Pakistan army were assessing damages to find out the cost of reconstruction.
The report on damage would be ready by Nov 15, enabling Pakistan to tell the participants of the Nov 19 international donors’ conference details of the damage and the needs arising out of it, he said.
In the joint needs assessment, ADB will focus on the education, transport, water, energy and agriculture sectors while the World Bank will concentrate on livelihood restoration, housing, health, private sector and environment.
The World Bank team will conduct an economic assessment, assess hazard risk management and social safeguard needs. The ADB will assess the institutional capacity for reconstruction.
After the quake, the World Bank and the ADB had allocated $40 million and $10 million that could be used in affected areas.
Answering a question, he ruled out a big seismic threat to Islamabad and other parts of the country.
He said no country of the world had the technology to predict an earthquake. “The predictions to this effect are nothing else but rumours,” he said.
He said a new building code would be introduced under which soil and seismic tests before erecting any high-rise building would be made obligatory. Turkey would provide technical assistance in this respect, he said.
He said a Turkish team had already arrived to conduct a comprehensive seismic survey.
Earlier, addressing the elected representatives from Mansehra at the Prime Minister’s House, he announced an emergency grant of Rs100 million for the district to meet the immediate needs of the locals.
The premier said a comprehensive plan was being chalked out for the reconstruction of the earthquake-affected areas of the country.
He said a crash education programme for the displaced students had been launched and said some 200 large size tents and pre-fabricated structures for setting up of temporary educational institutions had been sent to Azad Kashmir and the NWFP.
Mr Aziz said many donors had expressed desire to sponsor villages, hospitals and schools in the affected areas so that people could return to normal life.
He said the government would also provide sources of income to the people of earthquake stricken areas. Soft-term loans would be provided to the affected people in this regard.
He said the first target of the government was to ensure food supply to the quake-hit people and cleared the blocked roads.
He said: “No matter how much helicopters we have, opening of roads for swift supply of relief goods is essential.”
Secretary General PML Mushahid Hussain Sayed said the natural calamity was a humanitarian issue, adding that this was not the time of politics.
District Nazim Mansehra Sardar Yousaf Zaman Khan called for a grant of Rs2 billion for reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure in the district.
He said Mansehra should be declared a calamity-hit area and interest-free loans be provided to the people of the area.
He said homeless people of Balakot should be given free-of-cost plots.
