"Critical” situation of Balochistan quake as Caritas Pakistan aids victims
Islamabad ( AsiaNews) - "The situation in the area is still very critical . I have 515 confirmed dead , about 400 injured and the number of people affected is around 300", Amjad Gulzar , executive director of Caritas Pakistan tells AsiaNews. The Catholic Aid organization has been active in the Pakistani province since September 24 when a devastating earthquake hit the area already brought to its knees by a serious natural disasters and separatist guerrillas . "According to local witnesses - adds the Catholic activist - the distribution of basic necessities is slow . Thousands of people are still waiting for help , living outdoors. And supplies are limited because of the volatile security situation and the difficulties in transportation . "
On 24 September Balochistan province south -west Pakistan was hit by a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake at about 20 km underground , north- east of Awaran along the road connecting Quetta to Karachi. Hundreds of houses collapsed . The quake was strong enough to bring out a small island - 100 meters wide and nine high - off the coast , not far from the port of Gwadar . Balochistan is the largest of the Pakistani provinces but , at the same time , the least inhabited because of the roughness of the region, often the scene of earthquakes on the border with Iran, as was the case last April.
Immediately after the earthquake
, the leaders of Caritas Pakistan began working to collaborate to rescue the
victims. "We
approached the government authorities and volunteers in the area - says Amjad
Gulzar - to gather information on the damage and loss of life ." A
Caritas team , led by the diocesan coordinator for disasters and calamities
Nisar Mushtaq - originating in the district of Khuzdar , located next to the
district of Awaran epicenter of the quake - reached the area and verified the
situation firsthand.
There
is a close working relationship with local authorities , confirms the Executive
Director of Caritas Pakistan , thanks "to the permission for our presence
and active intervention " issued by leaders of the Civil Protection of the
Balochistan province . Any
information collected is channeled to Caritas Internationalis , to give life to
medium-term aid projects that will really help the population. Caritas
Pakistan has nurtured excellent relations with the authorities and civilian
population, an overwhelming Muslim majority .
"Christians
are shocked by the terrible images of the attack on the Protestant
church in Peshawar ," which claimed nearly a hundred dead and many
injured. A
massacre that follows closely after the attack on the minority in Joseph
Colony in Lahore. "These
two incidents have created a lot of distrust between Pakistani Christians -
said Amjad Gulzar - and I fear it will take time before things gets back to
normal " - However , he concludes, Caritas Pakistan continues to operate
to aid all citizens and is appealing to Catholics around
the world and the international community " to sustain us in this work to
assist victims of the earthquake in need of assistance ."
The area
affected by the earthquake yesterday was the scene of battles between
separatist rebels of Baluchistan and Islamabad troops, with rebels targeting
symbols of the state, development projects and infrastructure. A military
source reported gunfire on a convoy transporting doctors to the earthquake
area, but there is no independent confirmation about the attack that caused no
injuries. Experts in seismology and volcanology define the area where the
earthquake happened yesterday "among the most complex" on earth,
because the meeting point of the Indian plate (south- east), Arab plate (south
-west) and the Eurasian plate (north ) . The Kirthar fault generated the
earthquake. The fault line is believed to have an extension of 200 km and
touches the region (mountainous and mostly desert) of Baluchistan , which in
turn overlooks the Indian Ocean.. ( DS )
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