Kashmir: Quake victims thank Islamic groups for relief efforts
Hospitals, schools and camps built for survivors. Support from Islamabad authorities; but for the U.S. and India, those groups otherwise linked to terrorism in the area represent a threat to security.
Lahore (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Islamic militants who once fought in Kashmir have spent the last year battling to help victims of the earthquake that struck the area on October 8, 2005, killing at least 75,000 people. At exactly a year from the tragedy, survivors, tens of thousands of whom live in tents and makeshift lodgings, express their gratitude to Islamic organizations which have built hospitals and housing over past months. But there are those who fear that the presence of these militants and the support received from local authorities will increase instability in the region.
"We are very grateful to Jamaat-ud-Dawa for their hospitality and their help," said Zulakhian Bibi, 55, who broke her leg in a fall at her home. Dawa Field Surgical Hospital in Muzzafarabad, capital city of Pakistani Kashmir, is the only providing orthopedic surgery; it offers free medicine and has two operating rooms and a mosque.
Jamaat-ud-Dawa is the political wing of the outlawed group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which fights Indian rule in the other sector of disputed Kashmir. The US blacklisted Dawa as a terrorist organization in April. In August the group denied reports that it had ties with suspects arrested in Britain over an alleged plot to blow up airliners. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a key US ally, has refused to take any action against the group, while authorities have showered praise on militant groups involved in quake relief.
Islamic organizations were the first to reach the areas of Kashmir hit by the earthquake, which measured 7.6 on the Richter scale. Their members could be seen wearing commando jackets and sometimes carrying Kalashnikovs. They rode in the back of pick-up trucks to hand out supplies. In the past 12 months they have set up clinics, tent camps and schools. The militants themselves say that American relief workers "were initially reluctant to work with us, but they eventually came to appreciate our efforts."
It is not just America to have expressed misgivings about the presence of these groups in the quake zone. New Delhi too has not appreciated the open support given by Islamabad to militants linked to the insurgency in its part of Kashmir. On its part, Pakistan responded to criticism saying that they are only charities. According to the International Crisis group, a Brussels-based think-tank, "threats to domestic and regional security will increase" if these groups remain involved in the reconstruction process.
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09/11/2005
