KARACHI, Sept 29: Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Atique Ahmad has appealed to international donors to fulfil their commitment completely for facilitating relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the territory that was battered by a massive earthquake on Oct 8, 2005.

He said this while speaking in the meet the press programme of the Karachi Press Club on Friday during which he disclosed that besides mounting rescue, relief and rehabilitation and reconstruction work after Oct 8 earthquake, a major challenge before the authorities was pulling out of thousands of survivors from the populated areas, who were still living on the dangerous fault lines that had developed after the natural calamity.

He said reports of Japanese and other international experts were received recently and the government would commence rehabilitation work in the light of its recommendations to make the infrastructure earthquake resistant.

Sardar Atique said 40 to 50000 of residents of Muzaffarabad would be required to move out to safe zones because the place where they were still living had fault lines.

He emphasized that it was necessary for their own safety. In this context, he said that University would be shifted towards Gahri Dopatta in the road leading to Sri Nagar while some government offices would be shifted on Kohala road.

The AJK prime minister said so far about 95 per cent of the 4.6 billion had already been distributed as compensation among the affected people while the remaining would also be distributed soon.

Regarding $5.1 billion commitment by international donors, he said if there was any shortfall, President Pervez Musharraf had assured the AJK government of compensating that amount through the federal government.

He said that with the help of ERRA and SERRA, effort was being made to transform AJK into a modern hub of activity.

Replying to a question, he welcomed Gen Musharraf’s proposal for demilitarization of the territory across the Line of Control, self-governance and free movement of people and goods across the LoC and emphasized that only respect for the peoples’ rights and peaceful resolution of the dispute was necessary for sustainable peace in the region. He said a strong Pakistan was essential for ensuring that Kashmiris got their rights.

To another questioner, he said that bus service across the LoC had melted the ice a little but the procedure adopted for the service was cumbersome. There was a need to simplify that. At the same time, he said truck service should also be started to facilitate overland across LoC trade in Kashmir.

He said grassroot support for people-to-people contact would force the respective governments to pursue the path of composite dialogue for the resolution of conflicts.

Sardar Atiq also referred to his meeting with the EU officials in Brussels and thanked the OIC for adopting all his recommendations with regard to Kashmir.