MANSEHRA: Survivors of the 2005 devastating earthquake on Thursday marked the 21th anniversary of the unmatched tragedy of recent history amid agony and tears, recalling the day when over 17,000 men, women and children were killed when Balakot city crumbled into ruins.
“The successive federal and provincial governments deprived us of the reconstruction of schools and health facilities and earthquake survivors are still without plots at the New Balakot City housing project developed at a cost of over Rs15 billion,” local MPA Munir Hussain Lughmani told a ceremony held at the mass grave of over 65 students at the Government High School in Balakot.
People from different walks of life, including students, traders and survivors of the 2005 earthquake, turned up at the ceremony and offered prayers for the victims of the disaster.
Over 75,000 people, including women and children, were killed and around 100,000 injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir when an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck the northern parts of the country at 8:52am on Oct 8, 2005.
Mr Lughmani said that people were still passing through the trauma of the earthquake that ruined their city, Balakot.
“The tremors had left not a single house without any casualty, but bravo to the survivors who not only suffered the agonies but rebuilt the city to complete normalcy,” he said.
Mr Lughmani said that the government should not abandon the New Balakot City project and ensure early allotment of plots to the survivor families from Balakot Red Zone.
Assistant Commissioner of Balakot Hasrat Khan told the ceremony that the government was sincerely working to address the issues still faced by the people of Balakot after the devastating earthquake almost two decades ago.
ILLEGAL MINING: The residents of Oghi and its suburban areas on Thursday demanded that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government end illegal mining in the area, which had destroyed forests and caused environmental pollution.
“Oghi and adjoining Darband tehsils are rich in granite and other precious stones, but groups taking advantage of the government’s apathy are excavating these underground minerals without any official leases, causing pollution in the area,” resident Saiful Rehman told reporters in Oghi.
Accompanied by a group of residents, he said that the issue of illegal mining was taken up with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mineral Development Department for a crackdown, but to no avail.
“Legal mining is taking place in these areas but it should also be carried out under the standard operating procedures set by the government for the industry, as giant rocks are being transported to factories in big cities in open trucks, endangering the lives of motorists and passersby via the Karakoram Highway as well,” he said.
Mr Rehman said that large-scale illegal mining activities had destroyed roads and forests, while underground water table sources had significantly declined in Oghi and Darband tehsils.
“Due to landslides and soil erosion, mud and silt make their way to the Tarbela Dam in Darband and adjoining areas,” he said.
Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2026
