ISLAMABAD, Nov 17: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday many more lives could have been saved after the October 8 earthquake, had the UN received resources and there were no logistic challenges in rushing relief to the inaccessible areas.

“The UN did receive some response but we need much, much more to be able to help the people in need,” he told journalists at the Chaklala Air Base.

Mr Annan has arrived in Pakistan to attend Saturday’s International Donors Conference to seek long term support of the world community in rebuilding devastated areas in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the NWFP.

He said: “We need more resources, not just for emergency but also for recovery and reconstruction.”

Mr Annan beseeched the world to wake up to the scale of the disaster and give generously to help the country rebuild. He said he wanted the world’s better-off governments, corporates and people to help Pakistan.

“I would expect the world, those with capacity, to give generously and give willingly, and I’m not just speaking to the governments but also to the private sector and individuals who can contribute,” he said.

About the UN warning of second cycle of deaths, he said the death rate had been increasing ever since.

Mr Annan said the world could not have imagined the scale of devastation till after the first few days and asked the media to highlight the magnitude of the devastation and the urgency to rush relief to the affected areas.

He said the UN planned to rebuild better houses in what he said was the ‘recovery plus,’ not just build what was before, but build it in a manner that could withstand another disaster.

The UN secretary-general was received by Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri who thanked him for UN assistance to cope with the disaster.—Agencies

Qudssia Akhlaque adds: Mr Annan has a hectic schedule for Friday that includes meetings with the top Pakistani leadership and visit to the quake-affected areas in Azad Kashmir and the NWFP.

Speaking to media on his arrival here, the UN secretary-general termed the response of the international community to the catastrophic disaster inadequate, prodding it for contributions that are more generous.

On Friday, Annan’s first official engagement will be a brief meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharraf at the Aiwan-i-Sadr after which he will embark on a tour of the quake-hit areas.

The president or the prime minister is expected to accompany the UN secretary-general. When this reporter asked military spokesperson Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan about it on Thursday, he said: “Certainly, someone important would accompany the UN secretary-general.”

He said Mr Annan would fly over the entire quake-hit area to see the magnitude of the disaster while land at a couple of places. He would also be taken to an area where rehabilitation work is being undertaken.

Maj-Gen Sultan, who will be accompanying the media, for security reasons did not divulge names of specific areas to be visited. However, he hinted that “one major place” where no media member had ever been was included in the visit.

While Muzaffarabad is on the agenda, there are strong indications that the UN secretary-general would go up to the Line of Control that divides Kashmir.

A 35-member national and international media team, including four official members of UN media, would also be going in two separate helicopters. One owned by the UN and the other Pakistan army.

After the tour ends in the afternoon and the UN secretary-general will have lunch with the president. Later, he will call on Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri at the Foreign Office.

In the evening, Mr Kofi Annan will address a press conference at the hotel where he is staying.

His meeting with the prime minister will take place later in the evening, which will be followed by a ‘quiet’ dinner.