Kids’ lives at stake in quake zone: UNICEF • Rescue operation phase ends

Islamabad, October 14:

Construction experts in Pakistan have called for an official probe into why so many government-funded schools and hospitals collapsed in the massive South Asian earthquake, killing untold hundreds, even as Pakistan’s chief military spokesman, Major General Shaukat Sultan, insisted today that the search for survivors caught beneath the rubble of last week’s earthquake would continue, after officers in the disaster zone said they had been been called off.

However, Jan Egeland, the UN undersecretary-general and emergency relief coordinator said today: “The first phase is search and rescue. As a phase, that has now ended”. “It’s a cruel reality. But after a week, very few people survive.”

Meanwhile, the UNICEF said yesterday thousands of children in regions devastated by South Asia’s earthquake are at risk of death from cold, malnutrition and disease.

Many point to years of complacency toward the earthquake threat despite frequent tremors, shoddy building techniques and the open secret of widespread corruption in the awarding of public building contracts. “A probe must absolutely be carried out to prove this point that buildings should be taken care of not so lightly. The highest level of corruption in our country, sadly, is found in construction,” renowned Pakistani architect Nayer Ali Dada told AFP.

The loss of so many schools, and hospitals, has especially angered architects and

engineers.

The Supreme Court yesterday ordered a halt to the construction of a luxury housing scheme near Islamabad and asked the government to consider revising the construction regulations.

Local media today quoted Information Minister Sheikh Rashid as saying that the federal cabinet had decided that “building codes and regulations will be reviewed to ensure public security.”

Meanwhile, another report said international donors are already considering Pakistan’s reconstruction needs following its devastating earthquake, and expect to make a “much larger” aid offer, Yusaf Samiullah of the Department for International Development at the British embassy said here today.

Bus service trial run put off

NEW DELHI:

Pakistan and India have postponed the trial run of a cross-border bus service scheduled for tomorrow following last week’s devastating earthquake, Navtej Sarna, spokesmen of the Indian foreign ministry said on Friday. No new date has been set for the proposed bus service between Amritsar and Lahore. The bus service is expected to start next month. — AP

Rain expected in quake zone

ISLAMABAD:

Thunderstorms in Pakistan’s quake zone in the next 24 hours will likely disrupt relief efforts for millions left homeless, Mohammed Hanif, a senior meteorologist in Islamabad, said on Friday. Earlier this week, heavy rains had severely affected aid efforts. — AP