Another earthquake
From Balakot With Trepidation - A follow-up of Oct 8

Can anyone provide a status update on how relief operations are going as regards to protecting people from cold weather?

I read recently that an unusual bout of warm weather had provided some temporary respite. Hope the relief operations catch up during this small window offered by Nature..

Thanks,
Avkrishna

Although Pakistan Army is part of the problem in todays Pakistan ( curbs on democracy , lavish housing schemes etc.. ) but blaming all most every ill of our nation on army is being stupid. Uncle Urstruly , please stop all the crap its leading us no where , you are like a nagging wife who whatever happens good or bad blames everything on Army although yes, at times you are right when you point to army`s role with regards to civilian life and armed forces role in democratic institutions .
One can not deny the role of army in earth quake relief or any national tragedy be it train derailing in Gotki or the recent earthquake in Azad Kashmir and NWFP, its vital and army is workign overtime .
7.avkrishna,
relief operations is now turned into a `reconstruction effort` , NGO`s, Government, Politicians and Political Parties and Pakistan Army are working over time to shift people from danger zones , seting up shelters , supplying food , operating mobile schools and even colleges .
If you know Azad Kashmir and NWFP ( and I belong to Mirpur , AZK , Pakistan ) the worse effected areas are mountainous areas whereas big cities like Dadyal and Mirpur which borders Punjab ( with the grace of Allah ) suffered minor loss whereas areas bordering NWFP ( places like Muzaffarabad , Balakot etc.. ) were almost destroyed.
The problem now is that people living on mountains wants to remain there and not shift downwards to plain which is a huge headache for everyone thus resulting in more choper flights which is adding more bills .
In another extraodinary *what I call a miracle* , a women was rescued from the rubble after almost two months ( SubhanAllah ) these little miracles help those on ground helping our brothers and sisters and not nagging on civil admin. or fauj but does it matter , Allah Janay ! Pakistan Zindabad !

Re: # 6
What has Army to do with that you Blockhead?

``Fauj`` is not some ``aasmani makhlooq``.It is you,me and our brothers and sisters who make this ``fauj``.This earthquake has exposed the inefficiency and ill preparedness of the ``civil machinery`` in crisis or disaster management and it is this ``Pak fauj`` which has given momentum to the relief effort and are doing it with some order and discipline.Get into the habit of seeing beyond your nose.

Pak fauj Zindabaad. Fauj ke Dushman Muradabaad (errr!!!!! sorry, Murdabaad)

Author must be familiar with Hassan Fathy`s architecture for the poor, adobe housing, using locally available inexpensive raw materials. I understand that domed houses built using this method are tolerant to seismic activity, with wood framework. would like to know how suitable that would be for this kind of situation. pls note that I am not an architect or engineer. interested in the viability of adobe and bamboo construction for flood and other natural disaster inflicted rural regions in southeast asia.

Nothing new. These sort of quakes have become common. But they are being called aftershocks and believed not as fearsome.

#4 and #5, I agree with you, the Army is concerned more about defending the US and its interests than it is about protecting its own people. What is needed is a total restructuring of the institution, for as it is now, and as it has been all thru the ``cold war`` era, it is a mere indigeneously staffed base of the US government- mobilized at will by them.

Re: #4 & #5
For those of you who consider that Army is doing the nation a favour by being there, I urge you to go and see the conditions for yourself if humanly possible. I have seen the jawaans leaving after Sehri and return around Iftar and walking all day long to try and ensure that the reach all people and households. I have personally witnessed officers donating money form their pockets to setup basic necessities, so I think we ought to give them a break and appreciate the role they are playing on the ground rather than criticising the institution on the whole.

Re # 7:
Unfortunately things are not so well and even though temperature in some parts are higher than they have been in the pastyear , it is already too cold for people to survive in tents only. We must continue to do all we can before the snowfall starts. EVery time I visit the affected areas and see people living in tent villages and similar communities, I wonder what they are going to do once the winters really start...

--Abdul

Re: # 10
Hassan Fathy was one of the most innovative architects produced by the Muslim World. His designs are still being replicated in a lot of countries.

The bamboo and adobe design that you are talking about is being used by some NGOs in theaffected areas. A lot of other innovative designs are also under use. I, myself designed an earthquake-resistant, insulated shelter which is being mass-produced in Bagh, Muzaffarabad, Balakot and other areas by the Pakistan Army and NGOs Peace Malaysia and Australian Aid International (see details of my shelter, IRAS, on their website www.aai.org.au).

Those of you who are not happy with the Pakistan Army, all I can say is that you have to go to the earthquake-struck areas to see how the army is working. I can safely claim that if it had not been for the army, the death toll would have been much much more. What they are doing, no other organisation in the country could have done. Its not only about the army being organised or well-equipped, its about their determination and resolve.

Re: # 12 masadi

Very well said. I am also of the opinion that Pakistani nation can only emancipate itself if it abolishes this evil institution of military and break the shackles and chains it (army) has put around this nation in the form of corruption and lawlessness. Those who think that this idea is anti_pakistan should understand that army consciously do not let any civilian institute to hold firm because it provides the raison d`etre for its perpetual interference in the matters of polity.

I am of the opinion that for the country of the size of Pakistan with a nuclear and missile arsenal there is no need for a professional army larger that 75,000 personnel. In addition to that a mandatory two year military training for every able bodied Pakistani will be good enough to counter the threat from any part of the world.

I am so serious about this that even though I am a Punjabi I would propose a separation of other three provinces from Punjab so that only Punjab can shove its instrument of oppression where it belongs. The other three provinces will be free of this un-natural, Kurdistan-under-Saddam like arrangement. If a Punjabi wants to save the union then he must dissociate himself from this instrument of oppression - even when it comprises of our brothers and fathers - that they have unwittingly unleashed upon a law-abiding, decent, and humane Pakistan. This the sunnah of our Holy Prophet (pbuh) that for truth, justice, and freedom if he had to raise weapon against his relatives, he did. It is Punjab`s moral responsibility to not let other Bangladeshes happen.

# 8 #9 and # 13

You are all apologists for a corrupt army.

#8 Is the army doing us a favour by being useful this once ? They have sucked the blood out of this country for too long....so what if they have had to provide some assistance now ?? ..only ``some`` assistance...mind you. They are good for nothing. They do nothing at all...except suck the blood out of us, economically and politically....destroying the fabric of this society in every way they can just so their own fat bellys can become fatter. They are never going to be in a war....they dont even know how to fight one anymore. All they know is how to eat eat eat more and suck suck suck blood more.

Civil administration didnt fail.... there are no civil institutions left....the army has destroyed them all.

#9 Thank god my brothers and sisters dont make this fauj. Yours obviously do. I am a bloody ``civvie``. Not a parasite fauji.

# 13 To kya mairay baap kay sarr pay ehsaan kar rahi hai fauj ? Khaatay bhi to sabb say zyada yehi hain.

The only thing that amazes me is how even the dumbest can have such sharp survival skills.....in school the most rotten, useless, retarded rejects use to go into the army....and look what they have turned it into ..... a marvel of a self serving blood sucking gigantic freeloading parasite....so the rotten rejects from school were good at something, at least.