KARACHI, Oct 12: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has mobilized hundreds of volunteers to carry out relief work in the quake-ravaged Azad Kashmir, NWFP and Northern Areas as part of its efforts to provide relief and succour to the suffering humanity.

Seeing off the first batch of 56 such volunteers at the Cantonment Railway Station on Wednesday, Deputy Convener of the party Dr Farooq Sattar said the second batch of 75 volunteers would leave by Tezgam on Thursday whereas another team of medical staff had been flown to join 20-member group which MQM had sent earlier.

Dr Sattar said he was grateful to Pakistan Railways for giving rebated tickets of up to 95 per cent. These volunteers, he said, were badly needed because accessibility to affected areas, manpower for distribution of relief goods, and transportation of relief goods to remote area were still major problems.

Recruitment would start on Thursday to form a team of woman doctors and nurses to look after the female victims.

Dr Sattar told newsmen that the MQM had started a real jihad in Kashmir by taking care of them in their hour of crisis.

He announced that 55 trucks, carrying relief goods worth over Rs80 million had already been dispatched and some of them had reached Mansehra and Azad Kashmir.

Newly-elected Hyderabad nazim Kunwar Naveed and nazim-elect of Gulshan Town Wasey Jalil were also present.