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| October 04, 2006 | Wednesday | Ramazan 10, 1427 |
Building code approved for AJK, says Attique
ISLAMABAD, Oct 3: A post-quake building code for Azad Kashmir has been approved for adoption to ensure reconstruction of buildings capable of withstanding tremors.
This was stated by AJK Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan at a press conference here on Tuesday.
He said efforts would be made to complete the reconstruction process as soon as possible, but no deadline could be given in this regard. He pointed out that an area of over 7,000 square kilometers had been affected by the October 8 earthquake.
He said the first priority after the calamity was to provide temporary shelters to the people, and the target was achieved as 99 per cent people were currently living in shelters. All health and education facilities in AJK had been totally restored, he said, adding that the capital city of Azad Kashmir would be relocated to Chinar and Chattar class.
Sardar Attique said the ‘propaganda’ about misappropriation of reconstruction funds was baseless as the money was being given through bank accounts of the quake-hit people. He, however, said some flaws had been pinpointed which were being redressed.
He said India wanted chaos in Azad Kashmir and it was disturbing for her to see billions of rupees being spent on the reconstruction of Azad Kashmir into a modern state. Perhaps that was the reason why India was violating the Line of Control in Abbaspur and Nakyal areas, he remarked.
Criticising the government of India for implicating Afzal Guru in the alleged attack on the Indian parliament in 2001, he said that Mr Guru was a law-abiding Kashmiri and had nothing to do with the case. The alleged attack was a ploy of the Indian government itself to defame the ongoing freedom struggle in held Kashmir, he added.
He called upon the international humanitarian organisations to intervene and save the life of Mr Guru. He said he would write a letter to the UN Secretary General, the Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch, the Asia Watch and other international organisations to use their influence upon India to reverse its decision to execute Mr Guru. He also urged the government of Pakistan to take up the matter with the government of India.
The AJK prime minister said that India was pursuing a policy of repression and elimination of Kashmiri freedom fighters. The irresponsible Indian attitude could jeopardise the peace process, he added.
To a question, he dispelled the impression that the proposals of President General Pervez Musharraf were being seen as weakness. He said the diplomatic offensive of General Musharraf had been widely welcomed around the world.
To another question, he opined that trade with India should not be linked with the settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
He rejected the Human Rights Watch report, alleging massive rigging in the recent AJK polls, and said they were the most transparent in the history of Azad Kashmir.
About the objection raised in the report that supporters of independent Kashmir were not allowed to contest the polls, he said the ideology of Kashmiri’s accession to Pakistan was made part of the AJK constitution by the Assembly.
He said the decision was unanimously taken when the Muslim Conference was not in majority.
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