ISLAMABAD: The 10th anniversary of the 2005 earthquake was observed in the federal capital on Thursday.

A number of relatives of the 70 people who died in the Margalla Tower collapse visited the site in Sector F-10 and prayed for their souls.

Moreover, scouts and the survivors of the building collapse also visited the memorial built at the site. The Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) held an event which was attended by people belonging to different walks of life.

Renowned poet Kishwar Naheed told the participants that just after the earthquake she went to the affected areas such as Muzaffarabad and Bagh etc., and witnessed a terrible situation.

“Bodies were disfigured and beyond recognition. People who had lost their loved ones were traumatised,” she said.

Kishwar Naheed, who lit the first candle as a tribute to the victims and survivors, also read out her three poems on the occasion.

SPO chief executive Naseer Memon said the 7.6 magnitude earthquake caused a huge toll of death in Pakistan. However, only a few people were killed when a nine magnitude earthquake hit Japan.

“There is a nexus of builders in the country which has to be broken and building codes should be introduced to ensure the safety of the structures,” he said.

Human rights activist Naheed Aziz, who represented the Joint Action Committee of NGOs set up on October 9, 2005, shared her memories with the participants. Human rights activist Tahira Abdullah said steps were never taken to check such a huge damage.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2015

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