October 09, 2006	Monday	Ramazan 15, 1427

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RAWALPINDI, Oct 8: The People’s Rights Movement (PRM) on Sunday criticised what it said the lack of political will shown by the government and international donors in addressing the problems of the earthquake-affected people.

In a statement, Zahoor Khan of the PRM contested the government’s claims that the majority of those who lost their homes and family members had been rehabilitated.

He said the government had been unable or was unwilling to challenge the hierarchies of power that prevailed in the earthquake areas, thereby condemning a large number of people to complete exclusion.

The problem is most acute in Hazara, Balakot and its surrounding areas, where the vast majority of earthquake victims do not have legal title to the land on which their homes were built.

In fact, most people in the area are tenants, and when relief cheques and other aid is distributed, they remain deprived because they are propertyless and have no formal way of proving their claim.

In such cases, many people simply do not have access to the land anymore, and the government has not responded forcefully.

He also pointed out that the donor community, because of its long-standing support for the military regime, was caught in an unescapable contradiction.

On the one hand it supports an undemocratic regime, which gives the latter much needed external support, while on the other the donor community is not willing to hold the regime accountable to its claims.

He said until the donor community compelled the government to take steps to address people’s suffering, it will itself continue to face a crisis of legitimacy.