A week on, govt ‘takes notice’ of boat tragedy

Malik issues directives to envoy in Jakarta, PDMA sets up coordination desk.

QUETTA: The tragedy occurred a few days ago but for the families of both, victims and survivors, the misery is not yet over.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik, taking notice of the Indonesian boat tragedy which claimed lives of over 37 Pakistanis from Quetta, directed the Indonesian ambassador to help ensure arrangements in bringing their bodies back to Pakistan.

Malik also asked the ambassador of Pakistan in Jakarta to provide health facilities to the survivors.  Thirty-seven, out of a total of 55 Pakistanis, were killed after an overloaded boat sank off Indonesian coast en route to Australia last Saturday.

The minister directed the interior secretary to stay in constant contact with the foreign affairs ministry and Pakistan’s ambassador in Indonesia so that the victims’ families can be informed about the situation as it unfolds.

Coordination desk set up

Meanwhile in Quetta, the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) set up a special cell to coordinate with the families of victims.

The desk at the PDMA Balochistan office will help families identify the victims, said a press release. Most victims belonged to Parachinar and Quetta district.

The Hazara community claimed that as many as 70 people from Quetta were onboard the boat when it capsized off the Indonesian coast.

PDMA requested victims’ families to provide relevant details, including photos and identity documents, so that arrangements could be made for handing over victims.  (WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2011.