HAVING just returned from the area of the Ziarat earthquake and picking up today`s paper, I feel that your leader on the Balochistan earthquake is unfair to the powers that be.

After the minor tremor at 4.35am on Oct 29, followed by the major earthquake at 5.5am, the government agencies swung into action with commendable speed.

Several voluntary agencies with surgical resources, ours included, but without the detailed information the government had, only realised the seriousness of the disaster after a few hours.

We reached the worst-hit areas after a three-hour drive into the mountains.

Most of the living casualties had been treated, and the serious cases were being shifted to Quetta (Edhi ambulance playing a sterling role).

All major hospitals had been put on disaster alert and were ready for whatever came. The situation appeared fully under control.

On the morning of Oct 30, after a tremor-filled cold night in Ziarat, we checked in at several military and civil medical centres, and found everything well established with doctors and facilities.

Realising that a first-rate job was being done by government-based medical organisations, we returned to our own hospital, which in 1935 had itself been flattened with the loss of 83 patients` lives, and the living also rescued by the military of that day.

Dr R. H. PONT

Mission Hospital, Quetta