Kasuri praises global support after earthquake
By Khalid Amin

ISLAMABAD—Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri Wednesday said with the support from international community, Pakistan was able to cope with the challenge of devastated October 2005 earthquake and mobilized all resources and provided food, shelter and medical care to the affectees in the shortest possible time to mitigate their sufferings.
Addressing the closing ceremony of ECO international Conference on Disaster Risk Management here at local hotel, he appreciated the support from international community, including members of ECO.
Pakistanis will never forget the solidarity shown by the international community and the support extended by the entire World at that difficult hour to them, he added. The conference was organized jointly by Pakistan’s NationalDisaster Management Authority and the Economic CooperationOrganization.
The Foreign Minister said it provided a platform for sharingexperiences, challenges and lessons learnt with regard to disasterrisk management, and strategize regional cooperation among States that are confronted with a common set of challenges.
He said the conference has succeeded in bringing into sharperfocus, the interventions that are required at the local, national and regional levels to help member states better cope with disasters. Referring to 7.6 magnitude earthquake of 8th October 2005, he said it took away in all, more than 80,000 lives, and rendered 3 million homeless. He said although the tragedy was massive and the damagecolossal but the people and Government took it with determinationand fortitude. “The challenge of an extremely difficult terrain and damaged roads and bridges was met by relentless efforts, professional skills and heroism of our armed forces,” he said.
He said the success of the relief efforts can be measured from the fact that predictions of a large number of deaths immediately after the earthquake because of shortage of food, lack of medicine, or absence of shelter, proved wrong.
He said the support and encouragement from internationalcommunity reinforced Pakistan’s determination to convert thistragedy into an opportunity.
Major infrastructure projects are being undertaken, and cities are being planned afresh, he added. He said health care facilities, schools and colleges are being reconstructed.
Kasuri said he is gratified to note that the UN and otherinternational agencies have endorsed Pakistan’s strategy for reconstruction, and compared it very favourably with other disaster responses. Referring to loss to the education sector in October 8earthquake, he said, 18,000 students died, and 20,000 becamephysically impaired and over 7,000 schools were destroyed and nearly 800 teachers lost their lives. He said the establishment of the National Disaster ManagementAuthority in March 2007 reflects Pakistan’s desire to institute disaster management on a more permanent footing. Kasuri said Pakistan fully supports ECO’s efforts, including efforts for vertical and horizontal integration of disaster response regimes at the regional and international levels.