"Government is building shelters and constructing the basic infrastructure there, while the government of Punjab has started a programme through which financially vulnerable families would be rehabilitated until they stand on their own feet," Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain told a large gathering of Pakistani community here about the initiative that can support affected families at right time.

He said that the rehabilitation efforts may last 3-4 years as it is really a big task to accomplish.

“We want to materialise our programme within next three to four months, to benefit families whose bread earners got killed in the earthqauke. There are thousands of families who have no one to take care of, along with thousands of children who have been orphaned,” he told a gathering.

He said that the programme had been launched a couple of days ago by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Ch. Shujaat Hussain said that according to latest population census 500,000-600,000 families were living in the quake affected zone of Azad Kashmir and North-West Frontier province and as per a conservative assessment carried out recently 100,000 and 150,000 families are affected badly needing an urgent help.

Giving a first hand account of the situation on the snow-covered mountains, he said that international community and NGO's have played an important role providing relief assistance.

Situation on the ground, he said, was even worse with more three million directly affected by the October 8 earthquake, especially women and children, who are 70-80 per cent of the total population affected by the tremblor, are most vulnerable.

PML(Q) leader was of the view that international community and NGO's if they take-up the same job of rehabilitation would deduct 30-40 per cent of the aid amount as administrative cost, which was a big amount and can be saved, as government of Punjab will provide administrative machinery for it.

Ms Nilofar Bukhtiar, Federal Minister for Women Development, described the aftermath of a huge catastrophe, which has eaten-up an entire generation of Kashmiris and Pakistanis living in the 36,000sq-km quake zone, multiplying the miseries of people.

The minister said that over 2,000 pregnant women who have pelvic fractures can not undergo any medical procedures because it can harm them or their unborn babies. She said that monstrous quake that claimed lives of 40,000 children, also rendered  70,000 children injured or orphaned, which is a huge tragedy in contemporary history of mankind.

She said the situation in the affected areas was much more difficult, as chilling weather has made things worse. Nilofar praised her countrymen, who rose equally to the occasion in sharing difficult hour of grief of their fellow countrymen.

General Secretary PML(Q) Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said that people are wrong, who call Pakistan a 'failed state', as people, army and government have worked together to tackle a crisis situation, beyond human comprehension.

He said that Dubai-based ARY channel will run a four-hour telethon today between at 3pm-7pm, to raise pledges to sponsor a family. The telecast which will be watched in Europe, US and Middle East will target Pakistani diaspora, he said.

Mushahid Hussain eulogised the pro-active role of the UAE President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, government, and people who were the first to reach out to the quake victims within 24 hours of the tragedy.

Apart from providing much needed $100 million financial assistance, the UAE's armed forces, Police and Red Crescent Society (RCS) and various expatriate communities lent their helping hand in the most difficult times of Pakistanis, which the people of Pakistan will never forget.

Earlier, a 10-minute documentary was shown in which producer Huma Mustafa Beg showed the devastation, rescue and relief activities which followed the earthquake.