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Pakistan observes 1st quake anniversary
2006-10-08
Sirens wailed in somber reminder, then the bustling streets of this Kashmiri city fell silent, as hundreds of people marked the first anniversary of the South Asia earthquake that killed 80,000 people. Similar memorials were held throughout the country to remember those killed in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck at 8:52 a.m. a year ago, leaving more than 100,000 injured and 3.5 million homeless in northern Pakistan and disputed Kashmir, the region divided between India and Pakistan. On the main street of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and one of the worst hit cities, hundreds of people stopped their errands and their conversations and stood quietly as the sirens faded. At a memorial ceremony at the grounds of Muzaffarabad's Azad Jammu Kashmir University, which was destroyed in the earthquake, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf praised reconstruction efforts as a victory for Pakistan. He singled out the relief effort led by Pakistan's military, which sprang into action after the quake to rescue people from the rubble, provide aid and begin large-scale reconstruction. "It is a victory for the government, for the army, for the people, for the non-governmental organizations and for the world that supported it," Musharraf told at least 1,000 people who attended the service. "It was due to the help and generosity of the whole world and the NGOs that we were able to improve the situation." The Pakistani president also urged people affected by the quake to be patient, promising his government was working to improve their lives. The task of rebuilding is daunting, even with pledges of $6.7 billion in aid. More than 600,000 homes, 6,500 schools and 800 clinics and hospitals were destroyed by the quake, as well as nearly 4,000 miles of roads. In Muzaffarabad, the force of the quake toppled hundreds of buildings, trapping thousands under the rubble. The quake triggered landslides that sheared thousands of tons of soil from towering mountains surrounding the city. Ghostly white scars still remain on the mountain faces where the land was cut away. But life here has assumed a degree of normality among the partially cleared ruins. Rubble and collapsed minarets no longer block the narrow alleys of Medina Market. Crudely repaired stores are well stocked. Across the city, children attend class at schools set up in tents and prefabricated buildings. Displaced families still crowd city parks and hillsides, living in crudely erected shacks or under canvas. The government says about 40,000 people remain in tents and that reconstruction has started on one-fifth of the earthquake-proof homes destroyed by the disaster. Memorial services were held across Pakistan to mark a disaster that prompted a massive outpouring of humanitarian relief and reconstruction aid. In Multan, a major city in the eastern Punjab province, about 500 people, mainly students and teachers, held separate prayer services for victims of the quake. About 200 students and teachers of Maddrassa Jamia Khairul Moad Islamic school held a service of the recitation of the holy Quran, Islam's holy book, for blessing of those who died died in the quake. A day ealier 100 women and men gathered in Multan, holding lit candles in a memorial for the quake's victims. In the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, about 200 people observed a minute's silence at the site of the luxury Margalla Towers apartment building that collapsed in the quake, killing 74 people. Among those attending were relatives of those who died. Many hugged each other, wept and placed flowers at the site where the apartment block once stood. "We have gathered here to pay our respects to the departed souls and to renew our commitment to helping those still in need," Jan Vandemoortele, U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan, said at a separate ceremony near the towers. Musharraf has said his government will ensure the provision of basic facilities to those affected by the quake and that he hopes 80 percent of the reconstruction will be completed in the next three years. Aid organizations have said the reconstruction could take up to eight years to complete. ___ Associated Press writers Sadaqat Jan in Islamabad and Roshan Mughal in Muzaffarabad contributed to this report. Muzi.com News
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