MUZAFFARABAD: Prayer gatherings and protest demonstrations went hand in hand across Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Sunday, as the region observed 12th anniversary of the devastating 2005 earthquake amid lament that promises by the authorities in Muzaffarabad and Islamabad remained “unfulfilled” to this day.

The main ceremony was held here at K.H. Khurshid stadium under the aegis of State Disaster Management Autho­rity with acting prime minister Raja Nisar Ahmed Khan as the chief guest.

A police contingent presented salute after the acting premier laid floral wreath on a monument to the martyrs.

Hundreds of survivors from the worst-hit part of the AJK capital had spent their first night after being struck by the disaster under the open sky in the same ground, which was later converted into a tent village and continued to be so for a long time.

Recalling that dreadful day, the acting prime minister said the earthquake was a massive tragedy, but the survivors returned to a normal life in a short span of time, showing remarkable bravery and resilience.

“And this became possible with the generous support of the international community in general and the people, government and the armed forces of Pakistan in particular,” he said.

Mr Khan maintained that although the infrastructure loss was colossal, a lot had been regained in almost all sectors, far better that what the area possessed before the disaster.

According to officials, of the total 7,835 projects in all sectors, 5,393 have been completed at a cost of Rs166 billion.

While work on another 1,533 projects — 700 in the education sector — is in progress; 909 projects — 600 in the education sector — are yet to be initiated due to unavailability of funds, they say, adding that Rs39bn was required to complete the pending projects over the next two years.

The acting prime minister also acknowledged that some projects could not be initiated due to resource constraints.

Appreciating the central and regional (AJK) reconstruction related bodies, he emphasised that funds should be arranged for completion of pending projects, particularly those in the education sector.

As the official function was in progress, hardly 300 yards away a group of civil society activists staged an unusual demonstration by placing a mock coffin of “government and its departments” at Upper Adda.

Led by Faisal Jamil Kashmiri, an activist known for his satirical writings in social and local mainstream media, the demonstrators twice offered “funeral prayers” of the coffin.

Mr Kashmiri told reporters that even though local and foreign experts had suggested relocation of some 6,000 families of quake survivors to satellite towns to prevent casualties in the event of any similar calamity in future, “successive governments had failed to act upon that advice”.

“It is ironical that today only 736 plots are available for the affected families while the rest have been swallowed by corrupt government officials in collusion with land mafia,” he alleged.

At about 11am, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) also held a separate function at the K.H. Khurshid stadium to mark quake anniversary.

Speaking on the occasion, PPP regional chief Chaudhry Latif Akbar lambasted the AJK government for its “failure to seek funds for reconstruction from its parent government in Islamabad over the past one year”.

He recalled that before coming to power AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider would repeatedly allege that the PPP-led central government had shifted Rs55bn from reconstruction related funds to some other head, besides vowing to get that amount back.

“However, over the past one year he has not uttered a single word in this regard and that makes it clear that his allegations and avowals were mere gimmicks,” he said.

Activists of SLF, the student wing of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, also staged a sit-in outside the press club from 9am to 3pm to protest against “embezzlement of funds donated by the international community for rehabilitation and reconstruction in quake-hit areas”.

“The world came in rushing with generous aid but all those funds were not channelled into the affected areas,” alleged senior JKLF leader Anwar Khan on the occasion.

“We call upon the authorities concerned to complete the pending projects without further delay or else we will launch a protest movement across the state as well as many other parts of the world,” he warned.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2017

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