MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) will mark 12th anniversary of the devastating Oct 2005 earthquake on Sunday, amid persistent worries about availability of funds for completion as well as initiation of hundreds of reconstruction-related projects, particularly in education sector.

A day before the anniversary, a senior government official told Dawn on Saturday that as many as Rs39 billion was still required for accomplishment of pending projects in the quake-hit areas.

“If the required funds are released by the federal government, reconstruction-related bodies at the central and regional (AJK) levels are competent enough to complete pending projects within two years,” said Sardar Farooq Tabassum, Head of the State Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (Serra).

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2017