Foreign relief workers won’t jeopardize sovereignty of Pakistan: PM
PakistanTimes.net Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that the presence of foreign relief troops in Pakistan would not jeopardise Pakistan’s sovereignty.

“Foreign doctors in uniform don’t threaten our sovereignty,” he told a delegation of nazims [Mayors] from Mansehra district of the NWFP.

He said it would not make any difference if foreign doctors were in uniform or not. “Basically, they are here to help us,” he said, adding that there should be no misconception among the people about foreign relief workers.

The prime minister also announced Rs 100 million for the Mansehra government to meet its immediate expenses and fulfill the urgent needs of the people and asked the nazims to spend the amount transparently.

He said the government would meet every requirement of the earthquake victims. “We will give you more than what you have demanded,” he told the nazims.

Reconstruction of Roads

Damaged roads would not be repaired, but reconstructed because it was not possible to repair the existing ones, he said, adding that roads linking Neelum Valley, Jehlum Valley and other quake-hit areas would be completely reconstructed.

The prime minister also spoke about the importance of road networks to take the relief goods to the quake victims. He said relief operations conducted by helicopters could not match relief operations conducted by road.

The prime minister also said Turkish seismic experts had arrived in Pakistan to examine the quake-hit areas. He said all devastated cities would be reconstructed after considering the Turkish experts’ recommendations.

The damage in the quake-hit areas was being assessed and would be completed by November-15 and its outcome would be shared at the donors’ conference on November-19. Prime Minister said that tents would be provided to every affected family before winter.

Over 57,000 Dead

And while speaking at the National Assembly session, the Prime Minister said that the October-8 earthquake was bigger tragedy than the Asian tsunami in last year. He offered the opposition to join the parliamentary body headed by him that will oversee relief operations and other quake related matters.

The death toll in Pakistan from last month's massive earthquake has risen to more than 57,000, the National Assembly was told on Tuesday. Aziz proposed a Parliamentary Group of political parties' heads in the Parliament to effectively cope with the challenges posed by the October-8 devastating earthquake.

The Prime Minister, who would head the proposed group, said the government had been consulting the opposition since the calamity struck. "We want to take them along which is also the need of the hour. We want to redress their concerns," the Prime Minister said while winding up the debate on the earthquake and relief and rescue efforts.

He dismissed apprehensions regarding presence of NATO's team of engineers and doctors, who were here to assist in relief and reconstruction efforts. He praised the contribution of NATO in providing medical assistance, airlifting tons of relief goods and helping to clear roads and debris.●