8 October 2005- earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 caused massive destruction for Pakistan. According to Pakistani government’s official record, 73,276 persons died and thousands became homeless. Pakistani government carried out a massive relief effort and it has brought comfort for many people in the earthquake affected areas. However, still, many others are suffering. IHT has reported:
“Officials have been accused of corruption, although most foreign observers say that any graft is occurring at very local levels rather than at the center.
Relief agencies seeking funds to keep operations going in a quake zone, which is the size of New Zealand and spread across the western Himalayan foothills, have said that up to 1.8 million people could be at risk from the cold and from sickness this winter.
Musharraf has said that those fears are overblown, and that just 35,000 people would spend a second winter in tents, in a region where mountain communities endure freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall.”
The international community should come forward in support of the earthquake affected people. The donors provided generous support to Pakistan government and I feel that the donor countries need to find a good mechanism of ensuring that their money get spent in the right way.
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