President releases Rs2b for quake-hit areas’ re-building
By Our Special Correspondent

ISLAMABAD—President General Pervez Musharraf has taken a serious note of non reaching of relief material in the far flung quake hit areas and directed the army and concerned departments to ensure smooth provision of relief goods to remote areas.
President was presiding over a high level meeting held in Army House Rawalpindi on Thursday. AJK President Sardar Anwar, AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat, NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani, Chairman Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority, Lt Gen Zubair and Federal Relief Commissioner Maj Gen Farooq also attended the meeting.
President issued orders for release of Rs 2 billion from President relief fund immediately for construction of houses in the quake affected areas.
The meeting accorded approval to several key decisions on reviewing the relief activities in AJK and NWFP and provision of tents and blankets ahead of onset of harsh winter.
President taking serious view of the media reports directed the concerned organizations to provide relief aid to the far flung mountainous areas stressing that goods should reach every one at every cost. The provision of tents and blankets be ensured within two weeks as the harsh winter is likely to set in.
President also directed the health ministry to ensure provision of life saving drugs to the quake wrecked areas.
In this five hour long meeting the President directed NWFP and AJK governments to complete the process of distribution of compensation among the affectees expeditiously. Directives were issued to work out comprehensive data on homeless people, destruction of infrastructure and school and colleges buildings from district to Tehsil and Tehsil to village level.
President directed General Zubair to give final shape to the reconstruction and rehabilitation projects so that they could be presented in donors conference next month which would take place in Islamabad.
Lauding the role of army in relief and rescue operations President underlined the need for making all the relief efforts integrated and coherent.
Addressing the meeting President said Pakistan was thankful to the international community for their help and assistance. “We appeal to international community to continue our support as we need thousands of tents, blankets and billion of dollars for reconstruction and rehabilitation process.
President issued directives that final shape be given expeditiously to resettlement projects of cities.
APP adds: President General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday directed prompt release of Rs. two billion for reconstruction of individual houses in remote earthquake-ravaged areas of NWFP and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and directed all-out efforts for providing releif to the areas still not accessed. He was chairing the first full-fledged meeting of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority, which was also attended by President and Prime Minister of AJK and Chief Minister of NWFP. Taking note of media reports, the President showed grave concern that certain people in remote areas have not yet received relief goods, and asked all concerned to reach out to the people stranded in the inaccessible mountainous regions.
“We must aim at the provision of tents to the shelterless within two weeks to save them from severe cold. It is imperative that we sustain provision of life-saving medicine and succour to the affected,” he said at the meeting, which lasted for more than three hours. President Musharrraf also directed the governments of AJK and NWFP to quickly disburse compensation amount among the victims of the quake, which has claimed more than 54,000 lives and rendered millions homeless. The President emphasized the need for creating a comprehensive database with reference to losses to houses, buildings, infrastructure from district to tehsil and down to village levels.
Musharraf asked the authority to draw up a plan and its implementation strategy for construction of houses in cities and towns before next month’s international donors conference, being held in Islamabad. Regarding lessons learnt from the unprecedented disaster, the President underlined the need for Pakistan to have its own well-equipped and thoroughly trained rescue teams and institutionalized rescue arrangement. Briefing the meeting, head of ERRA, Lt Gen Muhammad Zubair said the Authority would priortize reconstruction of community infrastructure including houses, schools, hospitals, public health units, water and sanitation and government buildings.
The strategy will focus on ensuring execution of a well-coordinated reconstruction plan on fast-track basis so that the affected people are rehabilitated at the earliest and employment opportunities are in place for them to avert any large-scale migration and dislocation. He informed the meeting that reconstruction would be carried out on modern lines to ensure quake-proof infrastructure. Later, Press Secretary to the President Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan told APP that the meeting noted that the pledges made at donors conference in Geneva on Wednesday are for immediate releif operations. On the overall financial cost of reconstruction and rehabilitation, he said the government will determine it on the basis of database to b compiled ahead of next month’s international donors conference in the capital.