Altaf Hamid Rao.
PM Haq addresses a prayer function to pay homage to the victims of the 2005 deadly earthquake
Muzaffarabad/MIRPUR ( AJK) (Parliament Times) : Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Ch. Anwarul Haq has said that there was a dire need to adopt effective disaster response and rehabilitation strategies for minimisation of loss of life and damage to infrastructure during the natural calamities.
The PM said this while addressing a prayer function held here to pay homage to the victims of the 2005 deadly earthquake that claimed tens and thousands of people in Azad Kashmir.
Speaking on the occasion, the AJK premier said that the terrible earthquake turned a large part of the state into a pile of rubble besides consuming thousands of precious lives.
“On the other hand, the earthquake destroyed the infrastructure the state had built over decades”, the PM said, adding that effects of this tragedy would be felt for a long time.
Stressing the need for taking preventive measures to tackle such challenges, he said, ” We have to be aware of environmental and climatic changes taking place in the region”. Azad Kashmir, he said, ranks sixth among the worst-hit regions by climate change.
He said that steps should be taken to save the environment and climate.
“We need to rely on our own resources and stand on our own feet”, he added.
In view of the climatic changes, the PM said that all that we need was to preserve forests and increase their size through plantation.
“There has been a lot improvement in Azad Kashmir since the disaster struck the region but I feel there is still a lot more to be done”, the PM maintained.
The Prime Minister said that it was not humanly possible to stop natural calamities but effective disaster response and rehabilitation strategies can be instrumental in minimizing loss of life and damage to infrastructure during the calamities.
The Prime Minister said, ” We are striving to build a better future with a renewed determination and passion”.
The government, he said, was keen about creating a systematic and effective administrative structure for the effective management of natural disasters.
He said that the establishment of SDMA was an important step towards management and mitigation of natural disasters.
The PM, while appreciating international community’s role, said that the people of Azad Kashmir would never forget the exemplary role the international institutions, NGOs and other organizations played in rehabilitation of quake survivors.
The ceremony was attended and addressed by Minister for Information Pir Mazhar Saeed Shah and Secretary Disaster Management Authority Ms Tehzeeb un-Nissa and others.