Sunday, October 09, 2005

Earthquake's Havoc

The suneclipse followed by the horrible earthquake is enough for us all to beg Allah's mercy, seek His forgiveness and take an account of ourselves.
The releif measures taken by our government in such a critical situation are really not enough. It is all a clear evidence of lack of discipline and proper management on part of the government. It is strange that our government didn't arrange for an expert team for the proper carrying of the razed plaza right after the damage had been done. It was a pity to see people doing this technical jobon their own. Things have not been done at the poper time. It is also to be mentioned here that the earthquake did more damage in the Azad Kashmir and Abbotabad area than it did in Islamabad, but coverage has not been done to bring it all to the public gaze. Had there been only PTV to do this coverage, perhaps the rest of the world wouldn't have even known about this all.
As the head of the state it was incumbent upon Musharraf to call upon the cabinet immediately after the earthquake and take into consideration all the aspects as to undertake the relief measures. Then Musharraf should have addressed and call upon the nation and the Pakistanis abroad to do anything possible for the victims, an idea completely neglected. The Civil Defence department, which is supposed to be ready for any uncertain circumstances, also failed to cope with the situation. I get the feeling that perhaps our government has not taken the earthquake as seriously as it should have.

Readers Column, The Nation