AS IF it was not already enough for the millions of devastated survivors of the worst earthquake that rains and snowfall have hampered relief operations and compounded their miseries .The bad weather claimed the precious lives of four officers of Pakistan Army and two others whose helicopter crashed on Saturday in the Bagh Valley of Azad Kashmir where they had gone with relief supplies. Now, it seems Allah’s wrath which befell this nation on account of our collective sins is being replaced by His mercy. The Met Office has forecast dry weather for the next week and relief goods being rushed round the-clock to remote areas may at long last give a ray of hope to those struggling for survival in the intense cold.
Words fail us to articulate our sentiments on the way people of Pakistan from Karachi to Khyber and from Sialkot to Taftan border have responded to the need for emergency help. Relief goods are being collected all over the country and those travelling to help alleviate sufferings of the affected people have reported bee lines of transport vehicles with relief goods on roads leading to Muzaffarabad and Mansehra-Balakot. Thirty-eight countries, NGOs, international organizations and private groups from abroad are already in Pakistan to assist in the relief operations. Of course, our existing health network is already at a breaking point. While foreign medical teams are providing emergency aid to the injured in the affected areas, the United Arab Emirates have made the most generous offer. The UAE Government will transport at its cost all critically injured persons for treatment in its hospitals and keep them until they are fully recovered. Local hospitals in various cities where the injured have been admitted are over-supplied with public donations of money and food. The volunteers are present in thousands to help the hospital staff. According to a press report, 2,500 students of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are busy in assisting the paramedical staff of the twin city hospitals.
As President has announced the establishment of tent cities, the real work lies ahead. This, in his words, will be the mega stage of reconstruction and rehabilitation. We now know for sure that the devastated areas lie in the earthquake zone. The structures put up their including palatial mansions and big buildings made of reinforced concrete belonged to affluent persons, mostly expatriate Pakistanis. The public sector also did not care about the seismic nature of the area. Huge school buildings which turned out to be mass graves of thousands of innocent school children were constructed by the Government. The President’s Rehabilitation Initiative, the organization headed by Lt. Gen. Zubair will hopefully plan structures suitable for the area. Buildings in hilly areas and settlements built on slopes have to designed with reference to the nature of the soil. The experts have already warned that buildings proposed for the New Murree Project will pose a serious threat to human life and the environment. Let us for once do not allow haphazard building activity in the areas where every thing lies in ruins.

Trying Saddam

SADDAM Hussein goes on trial this Wednesday. The much-awaited trial of the former Iraqi strongman has generated wide interest both in and outside Iraq. The Western media, so tired of the daily bad news from Iraq, has understandably turned its attention to the trial. Parallels are being drawn with the infamous trial of Nazi war criminals in Nuremberg after the World War II. Even before the trial has opened, there is talk of the sentence the former dictator could be given. Just as everything in Iraq today is seen in terms of Shia, Sunni and Kurd, the Saddam trial is being approached and interpreted in sectarian terms. This is being viewed as an opportunity for the long- suffering Shia and Kurd communities to bring the dictator to justice. On the other hand, the Sunni community and many in the Arab world, according to Western media, see this as a way to settle old scores.
Anyone familiar with the history of Iraq and the Middle East would tell you this is a dangerously superficial approach to a very complex issue. To view Iraq and the related issues like the Saddam trial from behind the sectarian blinkers is an injustice to the great country and its heroic people. Just as it is ludicrous to argue the former regime persecuted and victimised Iraqi people on the basis of their faith, it is unfair to say the Sunni community identifies itself with the deposed dictator. The Baathist regime was completely secular in its approach. It was equally unkind to all communities. Faith didn’t figure at all in this high stakes game of power.
We must desist from interpreting the change of guard in Baghdad and the trial of Saddam in terms of Shia-Sunni struggle. What matters to the people of Iraq, whether they are Sunni or Shia or Kurd, and to the rest of the world is a fair trial and justice. Iraq’s new leaders must take great care not to turn this whole thing into an example or showcase of changing power equations in the country. Such an approach would further divide the already divided Iraqi society. If Saddam is guilty of crimes against his people and humanity, he must face justice. But in the interest of justice and long-term interests of Iraq, the dictator must get a fair trial. He must not be seen as yet another victim of a vindictive government. This case should unite all Iraqis, not further divide them restoring their faith in the rule of law and justice. It is not Saddam Hussein who goes on trial on Wednesday but the ability of Iraq’s new rulers to bring justice to someone who has never been known for his faith in justice. Justice must prevail.

—Khaleej Times