Awaran earthquake: Balochistan CM seeks Rs40bn for rehabilitation of quake victims

CM admits to not having achieved much on the issue of missing persons.

KARACHI: The recent earthquake in Balochistan has jolted the entire province and Rs40 to Rs50 billion are required for the rehabilitation of over 200,000 people and the reconstruction of 32,000 houses affected by the natural calamity, said Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch on Sunday.

The chief minister said that the province, which has an annual budget of Rs45 billion, has no funds for the reconstruction of houses, schools and hospitals. Relief work is being carried out in all affected districts and the provincial government has asked the federal government to provide funds or seek the same from the international community to deal with the massive devastation.

He was addressing a press meeting with journalists at Karachi Press Club.

Awaran is one of the most sensitive and troubled districts of Balochistan where 347 people have died and over 600 suffered injuries in the recent calamity.

Dr Baloch said that relief goods, including food packages, tents, rice, flour bags, quilts and clothes have been delivered to all districts with utmost efforts to ensure that the process is transparent. “Over 1,000 trucks carrying relief goods have been sent to the affected areas and there was not a single outward incident. No one can claim that the blankets sent to the victims of Awaran are being sold in Karachi or elsewhere.”

The CM was of the view that any person accused of stealing relief goods would be tried under the anti-terrorism law.

Missing persons

Dr Baloch said that dealing with the missing persons issue was the top priority of his party, adding that unfortunately there was no major success during the first five months of the new government. “I admit that I couldn’t achieve much on the issue of missing persons.”

Enlisting the major troubles haunting the mineral-rich province, Dr Baloch said that the province was facing political and economical issues, such as poverty, insurgencies, sectarianism, tribal conflicts and ignorance.

He said that an all-parties conference will be called this December to resolve the problems in a democratic manner. “We believe there is great power in the supremacy of democracy and people. We need to move from a security state to a welfare state.”

The CM admitted that the government had no writ in a few parts of Balochistan. He said that there were conflicts because of the presence of the law-enforcement agencies in a few areas, adding that the international actors were also present and contributing towards the deteriorating law and order situation in the restive province.

“We have removed about 50 per cent of the Frontier Corps security check posts from Quetta. For peace, we should maintain good relations with India, Iran and other countries bordering Balochistan.”

Despite the killings of journalists, political workers and intellectuals, he was of the view that Balochistan was not a place where every visitor would be killed. “We all need to contribute towards making it a better place for living.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2013.