Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, at an event held at the National Defence University and offered Fateha and prayed for the victims of the devastating 08 October 2015 earthquake that hit areas of northern Pakistan and greatly affecting major areas of Azad Kashmir
Islamabad (Pakistan Point News - 08th October, 2019) Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, at an event held at the National Defence University and offered Fateha and prayed for the victims of the devastating 08 October 2015 earthquake that hit areas of northern Pakistan and greatly affecting major areas of Azad Kashmir. He also paid homage to the victims of recent earthquake in Mirpur (24 September 2019).
In a statement issued here, the President said that the 2005 earthquake and the recent earthquake in Mirpur Division has made it evident that Azad Jammu and Kashmir lies on major seismic fault lines. He said this vulnerability calls for concrete measures for disaster resilience which primarily include preparedness, awareness and response strategies.
He said we must take definitive steps to make institutions like the State Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan Red Crescent-AJK Branch and other similar organizations more effective and help create awareness in our society on these issues.
He urged that building codes with seismic provisions need to be comprehensively bolstered and implemented so that public health and safety for all communities are ensured.
The President said that after the recent Mirpur earthquake, rescue and relief operations have been successfully completed by the AJK government. Rehabilitation operations, he said, have been initiated and in the next phase, exhaustive reconstruction activities will also be undertaken.
Masood Khan said that funds for these operations have been provided by the AJK government and the Federal government has also expressed their assurance of aiding further rehabilitation and construction projects. He said that funds from foreign donors, International NGOs and the diaspora community also have to be effectively channelled so as to ensure maximum benefit of the affected communities.
