Over 300 foreign delegates to attend Nov-19 Conference in Pakistan
PakistanTimes.net Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Over 300 delegates from foreign countries, agencies and corporate sector are expected to attend the November 19 donors’ conference as the scale of devastation in the aftermath of October 8 earthquake continues to reveal its adverse face.

The conference, to be addressed by President General Pervez Musharraf, would discuss the longer term reconstruction and humanitarian needs in the wake of widespread death and destruction in Azad Kashmir and NWFP. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will wrap up the daylong conference

UN Secretary General Kofi Anan, high-ranking representatives from the donor countries, presidents of Asian Development Bank (ADB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Vice President South Asia World Bank, UNDP Administrator and heads of a number of international institutions would attend the meeting.

The worst calamity in Pakistan’s history has left more than 73,000 people dead, nearly 69,000 seriously wounded and an estimated three million people without shelter in area spread over some 28,000 square kilometers.

One of the biggest challenges for the government is to reconstruct the quake-ravaged areas. The World Bank and the ADB have estimated that the cost of the devastating quake will exceed 5 billion US dollars which includes estimated cost for relief, reconstruction and livelihood support for victims.

These costs are in addition to the 1.6 billion dollars that United Nations has estimated will need to be spent on relief efforts.

Efforts by UN

The world body itself was struggling to raise 550 million dollars which, it says, were needed for a medium term programme to help victims.

“The economic devastation that comes with the physical devastation should not be underestimated,” UNDP Administraor Kemal Dervis was quoted as saying by a report on Monday.

The conference will discuss the damage assessment reports of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Pakistan‘s Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) and is expected to announce more donations.

Based on the data complied by ERRA, President Musharraf would unfold a plan for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the ravaged people and the areas and would appeal for more assistance.

The need for further assistance became even more pressing after the United Nations announced it was fast exhausting relief goods in its stocks, and asked the world community to provide assistance on priority basis.

US President George W. Bush, whose country has been among frontline donors with cash and kind has appealed the world community to contribute generously to quake victims.

“The international response to this disaster has been generous, but the needs are still great and so I also urge other governments, peoples in other lands, to do what they can do to help,” Bush told business leaders in Washington, some of whom are part of the delegation, which the US President is sending to attend the conference.

Italian deputy foreign minister Margherita Boniver who visited Pakistan last week, said her government would persuade other European capitals to send their officials to Pakistan‘s tremor-stricken regions, as the response had not matched the devastation due to poor projection by the media.

“The problems are immense. Tragedy of this (kind) need to ensure the survival of the survivors,” Boniver said

The Conference would provide Pakistan with an opportunity to impress upon the urgent need of developing a common planning framework, in order to respond to this human tragedy in a manner that is comprehensive, equitable, swift and adequate in terms of financial resources.●