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| November 15, 2005 | Tuesday | Shawwal 12, 1426 |
Musharraf says quake aid essential to fight against terrorism WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday said aid to help his country recover from the October earthquake was vital to fighting terror. Asked on NBC television's "Today" show whether increased aid from the United States would help Pakistan combat terrorism, Musharraf replied: "Yes…it will lend more credibility and strength to our decision that we took of backing the United States and being with the United States…the people would understand that joining the coalition, fighting against terrorism, joining, supporting the United States against terrorism, were all correct decisions.” Asked about Americans' potential reluctance to help a country where Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding out, Musharraf told NBC: "It's a failure of intelligence in not being able to identify where this man is. Most of the intelligence is directly provided by the United States of America. Whose failure is it? Is it Pakistan, or is it the United States, or is it a combined failure? Let's not put blame on anyone," he urged.(Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Pakistan quake relief a long-term effort, says US ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (AFP) US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca said Tuesday the rehabilitation of areas of Pakistan devastated by last month's earthquake was a long-term effort that required international help. Rocca was in Pakistan with a group set up by President George W. Bush to raise money for relief and reconstruction after the October 8 quake. Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri thanked the United States for the support in talks Tuesday with Rocca, his office said in a statement. He also expressed appreciation for a US aid package of 698 million dollars for 2005, part of a larger sum already pledged by Washington. Islamabad would put the money towards areas including the military, development and health, the statement said. Rocca also welcomed the opening of the Line of Control to allow the distribution of quake aid.(Posted @ 18:24 PST)
President appeals for large participation in donors’ conference ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Tuesday appealed to the world community, international financial institutions and donors to participate in the November 19 international conference to support Pakistan financially in rebuilding the earthquake-ravaged areas. Speaking to Islamabad-based envoys at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Musharraf presented an assessment of the damages and called for generous assistance both in cash and kind, while also assuring complete transparency in the disbursement of the funds. "We will welcome assistance in kind such as sponsorship of houses, schools, hospitals or even villages - but financial assistance will help us build housing and infrastructure on equal basis for all," he said. He said the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations and Pakistan are jointly working out the cost of reconstruction.(Posted @ 18:04 PST)
Injured quake survivors finally get help MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Nov 15 (Reuters) Nearly six weeks after Pakistan's killer earthquake, people with untreated injuries are still being brought down from remote mountain settlements. A villager trekked out of the mountains to the east of Muzaffarabad this week and told an aid group that people were still lying injured in three tiny, remote settlements. "We took the helicopter out and with a lot of difficulty we found these places and we brought back nine people with fractures that had not been treated at all since the earthquake," an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Three of the injured rescued on Monday were girls, aged three, five and 10, and the other six were adults, three of them over 70, she said. Some hard-hit areas are still cut off by landslides triggered by the quake that swept away roads. No one knows how many people are still stranded in the mountains without help. The United Nations had been hoping to launch an airlift on Tuesday with three British Chinook helicopters. But the six-day operation in Neelum Valley was postponed for a day because of mechanical problems, U.N. officials said.(Posted @ 18:44 PST)
Saudi King assures President Musharraf of continued support ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP): King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Tuesday assured President General Pervez Musharraf of full support and solidarity of Saudi Arabia in Pakistan's reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in earthquake-ravaged areas. In a telephonic conversation, King Abdullah said Saudi Arabia would participate in November 19 donors' conference in the capital and help Pakistan in all ways to rebuild the devastated infrastructure in NWFP and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.(Posted @ 17:58 PST)
14 convalescence centres set up for quake victims ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP): The government has set up 14 convalescence centres to help the survivors of severe earthquake of October 8. According to Federal Relief Commission, these centres including seven hospitals and seven relief camps have a capacity of 13,495 persons. The hospitals have been set up in Jinnah Sports Centre, PIMS, G-6, G-9, Argentina Park, F-10 Plaza and Capital Hospital. Apart from relief camps in Islamabad, two relief camps arebeing established at Hattian and Brotha by Punjab Government while a tent-village has been prepared each in Fateh Jang and Sahiwal.Overall, 27 field hospitals --16 foreign and 11 domestic--have been set up. Similarly, 20 foreign and 26 domestic medical teams are also working. Three foreign rescue and 21 domestic preventive health teams are also working in the affected areas, while 22 international and 18 domestic NGOs are carrying out relief activities. So far 3030.844 tons of medicines, 392177 tents, 62222.22 tons of ration, 3435041 blankets and 8430.45 tons of other commodities have been provided to the victims. Meanwhile, all main road arteries have been opened while 50 per cent power supply, 70 per cent water supply and 70 per cent telecommunication facilities have been restored. Debris clearance remained up to 10 per cent. A total of 71 tent-villages have been set up and 9257 tents were provided to the people. Out of total, 42 tent-villages have been set up in AJK and 29 in NWFP. Besides, 29 tent-schools (20 in AJK and 9 in NWFP) have been set up with 175 teachers and 3748 students. A total of 122 male, 88 female schools while 16 male and female colleges have been reopened in Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Poonch districts of AJK. Till November 12 a total of 6076 sorties were generated. (Posted @ 10:18 PST)
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