Germany pledges 15.6m Euros in quake aid
By Uzma Zafar

ISLAMABAD—Germany on Wednesday welcomed the decision by President General Pervez Musharraf to allow Kashmiris from across the Line of Control (LoC) to help people in Azad Kashmir and assured its long-term support in the reconstruction of quake-hit areas.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, German Ambassador Gunter Mulack said his country welcomed the decision as it would enable the people living on both sides of the LOC tto share the burden in the wake of October 8 earthquake.
“It is a very good gesture and Germany fully supports this”, he said in the presence of German aid workers involved in rescue and relief efforts in Pakistan.
Mulack said Berlin has so far allocated 15.6 million euros and committed another 3.5 million euros to the U.N. flash appeal to help the people devastated by October 8 quake.
He assured German’s long-term support in reconstruction and rehabilitation of the ravaged parts in Kashmir and in the NWFP province. “But the first step is to fly wounded to hospitals and provide tents and blankets to the affected people”, he added.
Mulack said German and Pakistani officials would discuss how to prioritize quake relief assistance when they meet next month for the annual talks on bilateral economic cooperation.
He informed the newsmen that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was likely between Pakistan and the NATO on Friday, which will enable the Organization to provide required quake assistance to Pakistan for the next three months.
The NATO has already established an air bridge and was airlifting relief goods from Turkey and Germany to the quake-ravaged areas, he said but added, the MoU would provide for assistance on ground including, medical and technical support.
The Ambassador highly appreciated the Pakistan army pilots and said they were doing a great job to help the affected people.
Stressing the need for more helicopters, he said the two Ch 53 choppers of the German Federal Army would continue to assist the relief efforts and hinted at more helicopters from his country. Lt. Col Markus Bodefeld, part of 54-member medical team that landed in Pakistan three days after the quake, said two CH 53 helicopters of the Federal Army have so far conducted 97 missions to the affected areas.
“We have dropped 124 tons of relief goods in remote areas, flown 1470 passengers and brought back 1570 seriously wounded to Islamabad”, he added. The German relief team is based in northeast Muzaffarabad while their helicopters are flying daily between Islamabad and the quake-hits areas to drop relief goods and transport wounded.
The German Army on Thursday will hand over a 700 square meter tent to the civil administration in Muzaffarabad.
German Red Cross is also working closely with their local partners to provide medicines, water-purification plants and other relief goods to the affected areas.
Moreover, several German NGOs are also independently active on the ground. German Agro Action has allocated 100,000 euros for relief and reconstruction, and ORA International is distributing tents and foods stuffs in Manshera district.