Aftershock rattles Pakistanis

Days after the September 24 earthquake claimed the lives of more than 500 and left thousands waiting for rescue and relief in Pakistan, members of the international community, including the UAE, rally round to help those left devastated by the disaster — while another 7.2 aftershock hit Balochistan’s Awaran area.

Reports reaching from Awaran in Makkorran Division of Balochistan, a province mired in a bloody battle for independence, suggest no rescue and relief operations have been carried out since the 7.8 magnitude quake hit the area on Tuesday, leaving thousands of people homeless, and without food and water, before Saturday’s violent aftershock.

“It is almost a week now when the first earthquake destroyed everything we had. Today what we had — damaged walls of our houses — are also buried with this other earthquake. We have not seen any relief assistance from anyone in our area (of) Washuk. Not a single government official has come to learn about our fate,” said Mohammed Hashim, who spoke to Khaleej Times from his home town.

He also said there was a problem with the relief work as the Government insisted on army carrying out the relief work while the Baloch rebels insist on Non-Governmental Organisations doing the job. “Why does the Government not allow the NGOs and other relief organisations to do the job? The people who are at war with the army do not allow the uniformed people to come to the area, because they think it is an excuse to penetrate into their area, so let the NGOs do the job,” he said.

After seeing no relief assistance or rescue operations from the government and international organisations reaching the affected areas, the Baloch Diaspora on Saturday launched their own fundraising initiatives. Balochis in North America, GCC countries and East Africa announced fundraising campaigns for the relief of quake-affected people in Balochistan.

In the United States, the community has set up a website to generate funds and donations for the victims of last week’s earthquake that devastated the district of Awaran, killing more than 500 people.

The online platform is administered by a group of young professionals based in the United States who have appealed to the people across the globe to help the Baloch earthquake victims as they urgently need drinking water, food, medicine, medical treatment, tents and other stuff in order to grapple with the tragedy. They have also welcomed people who are interested to volunteer in collecting donations.

In the UAE, individuals have started collecting money through word of mouth, while in Bahrain, the Baloch Club launched the day after the first quake. Similar campaigns are being carried out in Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.

Donors for the Fund for Balochistan Earthquake Victims are advised to visit: balochistanearthquakefund.org, while a Facebook page can be accessed at www.facebook.com/events/1401518366745118/

nissar@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE