MUZAFFARABAD: People ob­ser­ved the tenth anniversary of the Oct 8, 2005 earthquake here on Thursday by participating in different events, where they expressed gratitude to those who had helped them in the aftermath of the massive tragedy.

The main event of the day was a prayer ceremony held at the K.H. Khurshid Stadium which houses a monument to the victims of the disaster.

Take a look: Remembering Oct 8, 2005: The day the earth shook

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed laid a wreath at the monument and offered fateha for the departed souls.

Earlier, at 8:52am sirens were sounded followed by one-minute silence to pay tribute to those who had suffered loss of life or limb in the quake.

“The memories of the earthquake are heart-rending, but we fought the disaster with exemplary resilience,” Mr Majeed said. “We are grateful to people and government of Pakistan, international community and national and international NGOs for offering generous help to the survivors.”

He called upon the federal government to release more funds to complete the unfinished reconstruction projects.

Later, the prime minister laid foundation stone of a monument to the victims near the Earthquake Memorial Naluchi Bridge.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2015

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