April 5, 2006	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 6, 1427

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SUKKUR, April 4: Former president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and leader of AJK People’s Party Sahibzada Ishaq Zafar has said nothing had been done for the rehabilitation of earthquake-hit areas despite government’s claims of receiving six billion dollars from the international community.

At a press conference at the Sukkur press club on Tuesday, he said that earlier the government had announced compensation of Rs. 200,000 for each destroyed house which had now been reduced to Rs. 25000, that too, was being granted on political basis.

He called upon the government to make the distribution of amount transparent and free of politics.

Regretting that the government happily took the burden of three million Afghans, but was not ready to help out 1.5 million people of Azad Kashmir and NWFP, who have been rendered homeless by the quake.

He further said that so far only propaganda was being done, while practically nothing could be done to minimize the miseries of the quake-hit areas.

Strongly condemning the statements of President Musharraf, in which he had said that 58 year-old Kashmir policy should be amended to reach some solution, he said that such a reversal in the Kashmir policy would not be tolerated.

He said that he had insulted the blood of 600,000 Kashmiri martyrs and made it clear that Kashmiris would never allow any dictator to play with their fate.

He further said that neither Pakistanis nor Kashmiris would accept the decisions taken by a dictator and added that only a democratically elected government could resolve the issue according to the wishes of the people.

To a question he said that, three rivers of Pakistan including, Bias, Sutlaj and Ravi have already been sold, while India was given permission by the present government to construct Baghliar dam over Chenab River, which will prove harmful for the country. He said that construction of Baghliar dam must be stopped otherwise Pakistan’s agricultural economy would be destroyed.

He stressed the need of constructing small dams.

HOUSES TORCHED: Five houses were torched by armed persons, over the dispute related to karo-kari, in the Eitbar Khoso Village in the jurisdiction of Karim Bux police station, near Thull on Tuesday. According to reports, a group of armed men entered into the village and opened indiscriminate firing and set ablaze five houses as a result of which the entire households and stocks of grain were reduced to ashes.

Later, the villagers retaliated and an exchange of firing lasted for about half an hour, after which the armed attackers fled from the scene. The affected villagers included Qamar Din Khoso, Shah Mardan Khoso, Ashfaq Khoso and others.

The villagers claimed that the reason for the attack related to an old dispute of karo-kari.

No case was registered till the filing of this report.

DOLPHINS: The Sindh wildlife department in a survey on the River Indus from Guddu to Sukkur barrages has found that there are 809 dolphins, 40 of which are newly-born.

A statement of the department issued here on Tuesday said the survey was conducted after a gap of five years.

The survey revealed that the water level in the river was very low and most of river channels were dried up due to which dolphins were residing only in the main stream. It said dolphins were under threat due to excessive use of fishing nets, disposal of industrial and cities’ sewage into the river and shortage of water.