GILGIT, Dec 20: The Northern Areas chief executive on Thursday declared Diamer district a calamity-hit area, reliable sources said.

A series of earthquakes in November here killed at least 30 people in Raikot, Muthaut, Tatupani and Astore and injured around 150 people. At least 10,000 people were also displaced.

Chief Executive Aftab Ahmed Sherpao also directed the departments concerned for permanent rehabilitation of the quake victims.

A source in the Northern Areas Administration told Dawn that the government had already exempted the victims from all taxes and written off their loans.

JI DEMANDS: The Jamaat-i-Islami, Northern Areas chapter, chief Mushtaq Ahmed has demanded of the government to rehabilitate the quake-affected people in the Astore subdivision or in Diamer district.

Talking to newsmen at a press conference, the JI leader said that the quake-affected people could no longer brave the harsh weather in the camps and demanded of the government to identify certain areas in the Diamer district to settle them and all the basic facilities in should be ensured at the settlement.

Mr Ahmed said that compensation to the affected people should be made according to the market rates and claimed that the officials had been assessing damages by the outdated Damage Assessment Act, 1939.

JOLTS: At least two major jolts were felt in the Northern Areas on Thursday and Friday that were measured 4.9 and 5.0 respectively at Richter Scale, says APP

The jolts caused damage to some property in Diamer district, but no casualty was reported.

Epicentre of the quake lies 350kms north east of Peshawar, in Kashmir and Northern Areas.

The fresh jolts however hindered relief activities and restoration of the Gilgit-Astore road.

They also blocked the Karakoram Highway early on Friday morning for six hours, but later in the day the road was restored by the Frontier Works Organization.