Cabinet of Gohar Abad Students Organization elected
Press Release
Karachi, February 9: A meeting of the Gohar Abad Students Organization was held at Karachi. The meeting was participated by a large number of students and professionals belonging to Punial – Goharabad.
During the meeting a new cabinet of the organization was also elected. Noor Akbar was elected as president, Imran Rehmat, general secretary and Sher Ayub, finance secretary.
The newly elected student leaders promised to help the students in resolving their problems.
Add comment February 10, 2010
Health woes of the people of Gojal
by Aazur
Karachi, February 9: Syed Ahmed Jan of Chipursan is one of the seven people injured in a road accident. All the injured were shifted to Gojal’s only hospital located at Gulmit, the Tehsil headquarter. Although some doctors were deputed by the health department at the hospital to deal with the emergency situation created by blockage of Karakuram Highway, their work is hampered by unavailability of basic medical equipments, including X – ray machine.
Six of the people injured in this accident were released from the hospital after getting firs aid, but Syed’s injuries require further examination and he has been referred to the doctors at a relatively better equipped hospital in Aliabad. Unfortunately, the helicopters have not been able to fly for more than five days because of deteriorating weather condition and Syed lies unattended at Gulmit.
Similar is the story of tens of other patients helplessly stranded in Gulmit and other villages of Gojal valley.
The announcements of Qamar Zaman Kaira and Syed Mehdi Shah seem to have vanished in the air, like the dust blown by the strong winds of Gojal. The chief minister of Gilgit – Baltistan had promised during his late visit to the region that an operation theater would be established at the hospital on emergency basis.
It seems that the standard action time to deal with an emergency situation in the case of Gilgit – Baltistan is longer than three weeks.
1 comment February 9, 2010
8 meters deep area of the landslide debris excavated: FWO
Speaker GBLA, Chief Secretary and other officials at the Hunza River blockade. (PT Photo)
by Zulfiqar Ali Khan
HUNZA, Feb 8: The main bridge on Karakoram Highway (KKH) linking Pakistan and China near Gulmit and Shishkat villages, would submerge within 24 days in the lake formed on Hunza River due to the blockade of the river, said an official of the Frontier Works Organisation.
Naseem Hassan, spokesman for the FWO, in a briefing to Gilgit-Baltistan Legislativ Assembly Speaker Wazir Baig and Chief Secretary Babar Yaqub Fateh Muhammad at the lake site said that the rising water level further increased due to the recent snowfall. He said FWO engineers had excavated about 8 metres of the debris since Jan 29.
Experts were conducting study on the outburst of the lake as it was a possibility, he added.
The chief secretary said that 10 boats had been moved from Islamabad to facilitate the movement of people, food and other essential items to and from Gojal valley upstream on the lake.
He directed the Gilgit-Baltistan Power and Works Department to develop an approach road to the boat platform site for four vehicles to ease the travel of patients and women.
Meanwhile, the helicopter service remained suspended for the fifth consecutive day due to inclement weather leaving over 500 people, mostly patients and students, stranded on both sides of the blockade.
[Editor's Note: According to NDMA website over 26, 000 cubic meters of debris was removed by January February 6. Since an average of 2, 000 cubic meters are being excavated everyday, the volume of debris excavated can be around 30, 000 cubic meters as of yesterday.]
5 comments February 9, 2010
Landslide victims: Irregularities alleged in supply of relief goods
by Zulfiqar Ali Khan
HUNZA, Feb 7: The locals have complained of irregularities in distribution of relief goods among the landslide affected people of Hunza and Gojal.
They also criticised the VIPs for misuse of the helicopter service meant for transportation of the 25,000 stranded people of Gojal tehsil.
A number of people told Dawn that the government had not yet provided any relief to Gojal and helicopters were lifting goods of local traders. The big list of relief goods indicated in the reports of National Disaster Management Authorities (NDMA) does not match what has been provided to the affected people. It is said that these items had been stored by the concerned authorities in Gilgit.
The relief goods provided by the Punjab government have also not reached Hunza. People are questioning about the whereabouts of the relief goods. A major part of the relief goods has been provided by the Focus Humanitarian Assistance, Pakistan Red Crescent Society and other organisations. Similarly, the list of items provided to Gojal also raises questions whether the relief goods were provided free?
Although the NDMA gave a quick response to the disaster and provided helicopter service, however, local people are also critical of its role for reportedly denying the helping hands of international community including the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in order to assert its capacity of dealing with disasters.
The 26-member team of government officials and traders from Gojal retuned from China without major success to purchase major food and other items.
The announcement of Governor Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira to establish emergency operation unit in the only hospital of Gojal could not be materialised so far which risks the lives of the stranded people with emergencies specially women and children.
About 141 families comprised of 1,163 members of Atabad and Sarat are still waiting in school camps for permanent settlement.
The media is accused of ignoring the issue. Due to lack of commercial interest in the affected region, the electronic media has ignored the devastation in the geo-strategically important region, people say.
Locals have demanded of the government to declare Gojal a calamity-hit region as there “is no hope that the Karakoram Highway would be opened in the coming months”. [DAWN]
Add comment February 9, 2010
PPP general secretary gets show cause notice
PT Report
Karachi, February 9: Secretary general of PPP Gilgit – Baltistan, Ghulam Muhammad, has reportedly recieved a show-cause notice from the party’s central leadership for violating party policies and using party stationary illegally.
According to information recieved by Pamir Times Ghulam Muhammad used the party letterhead to write a letter to president Zardari and premier Gillani, demanding action against two bureaucrat brothers from Ghizar district, Law Secretary Hafeez – ur – Rehman and AC Momin Jan. According to our source the letter was signed on behalf of Chief Minister of Gilgit - Baltistan, without his consent.
According to the source Ghulam Muhammad had sent copies of the letter to Kaira, Wattoo, federal secretary of K&GB and commandar of FCNA.
14 comments February 9, 2010
Muhammad Abbas of Gilgit – Baltistan to represent Pakistan in Vancouver 2010
A view of the Naltar Ski Resort - PT File Photo
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani skier Mohammad Abbas, a native of Naltar valley in Gilgit – Baltistan, became the first man in the country’s history to qualify for the the Winter Olympics, to be held from Feb 12 in Vancouver, Canada.
A ceremony was arranged at the Canadian High Commission in Islamabad to honour Abbas.
Canadian High Commissioner Randolph Mank, office-bearers of the ski federation, Abbas, politicians and diplomats attended the ceremony in large number.
Abbas was part of a group of eight Pakistani skiers that undertook a nine-week advanced training-cum-competition tour of Europe early last year in a bid to earn points and qualification for the Winter Olympics. A skier automatically qualifies for the Winter Olympics if he has an average of 120 Federation de International Skiing points, something which was expected of at least half the team but only Abbas could manage.
Ski Federation of Pakistan (SFP), led by its President Air Marshal Shahid Lateef, had sponsored the trip and had in fact been providing financial, logistical and coaching support to the selected skiers for the past couple of years.
Abbas and almost all members of the team belong to Gilgit – Baltistan which is the home to the country’s top ski resort at Nalter, near Gilgit.
6 comments February 8, 2010
Gojal clamours for urgent attention
by Zulfiqar Ali Khan
A month has already passed since the devastating landslide of Atabad Hunza. KKH, the lifeline of communication between Pakistan and China lies blocked. This situation coupled with the already poor communication infrastructure in Gojal area has increased the miseries and danger to the lives of the 25,000 inhabitants of the area.
The experts monitoring the water level in the lake formed as a result of the landslide estimate the water inflow in the lake at 200 to 250 cubic foot per second. This is raising the level of the lake by an average of 2.6 feet per day. Presently the lake stretches to about 11 km towards Gulmit and it is estimated to further increase to about 25-30 kilometres towards Hussaini village.
The water has already inundated 900 kanals of land and thousands of orchards in Ayeenabad and Shishkat Payeen (lower), besides submerging 11 houses while others are watching haplessly and waiting to see when their houses go under water that has also damaged the electricity and telephone infrastructure. According to experts, the height of the potential spillways point is still 79 meters from the present water level in the artificial lake.
The Frontier Works Organisation is working as the coordinating agency of Army on the excavation of the spillway. The Rs54 million project was started on Jan 29 after completing a 600 meters approach road, eleven days after the disaster.
The authorities have given March 15 as deadline for the release of the water. The slush debris is hindering the pace of work. Presently about 60 workers with four excavators, four bulldozers and one compressor are engaged in the work on the site.
According to FWO about 13,952 cubic meters of the total 112,500 cubic meter (13 per cent) debris from the spillway had been excavated till Thursday.
The local people are, however, dissatisfied with the pace of work and demand deployment of more machinery to ensure immediate release of water to save the settlement in Gojal.
According to experts, the lake could submerge about 14,800 kanal of mostly cultivable land in Ayeenabad, Shishkat and Gulmit -3,000 kanal in Ayeenabad, 7,000 kanal in Shishkat, 3,000 kanal in Shishkat Payeen and 1,800 in Gulmit. The estimate further reveals that the lake could submerge 187 houses displacing 1,736 people — 32 houses in Ayeenabad, 157 in Shishkat centre and payeen and 10 in Gulmit.
The lake has already submerged 3.5km of KKH and could submerge about 25km of KKH from the blockade area to Hussaini village. Experts predict that the water could submerge the main bridge on KKH between Gulmit and Shishkat village within 15-20 days. This will cut off the more than 3,000 population of Shishkat village from the rest of the world.
The authorities are not ruling out the possibility of sudden bursting of the lake which could devastate the settlements downstream in Hunza-Nagar and Gilgit district. According to some reports, if this happens it would not only wash the settlements along the river but also damage KKH, bridges and other installations.
The district administration and Focus, an NGO, has established early warning system for the communities living in low-lying areas downstream. A similar blockade of the river near the present site in 1858 not only submerged the low-lying areas upstream but also washed areas up to Attock drowning about 1,500 Sikh soldiers.
Meanwhile, the eleven families of Ayeenabad who have lost their houses and properties in the lake are still unattended and the government has not yet registered them as IDPs. The people are living with host families without any proper relief. With the passage of time the number of displaced people will increase adding to the problems for the authorities.
An initial survey of FOCUS identifies three more potential disaster areas in Hunza-Nagar. NDMA should expedite efforts for a complete geological survey of whole GilgitBaltistan and plan accordingly.
Proper communication infrastructure like online banking facilities and internet service should be extended to Gojal in order to ensure proper communication disaster situation. DAWN
7 comments February 8, 2010
Safety of laborers working on KKH expansion project
Laborers working at the KKH near Murtazabad – Hunza, as part of the mega expansion project jointly being carried out by the Chinese and Pakistani government. Safety of these laborers is a serious issue being ignored by the contractors and governments.
One can generally see the Chinese workers employed for the same project wearing helmets and other safety gears but the local laborers are prone to all kinds of major and minor hazards. [Photo by Noor]
2 comments February 7, 2010
ISO activists protest against Karachi carnage
Gilgit – Activists of the Imamia Students Organization (ISO) protesting against the bombings in Karachi that targeted Shia mourners on Chehlum of Imam Hussain (AS)
Add comment February 7, 2010
Traders back from China, without fuel and flour
by Zulfiqar Ali Khan
HUNZA, Feb 05: The 26 member delegation of local traders and government officials retuned back to Sost from China on Friday without any success to bring along supplies of essential food and non food items for the 25,000 people of Gojal land locked due to the blockade of KKH.
Talking to this scribe, a local trader said that the Chinese Government not allowed the export of petroleum items. He said there should be a prior ministerial level negotiations to allow the supply on the base of humanitarian ground.
The traders informed this scribe that the price of 25 bag flour in China is Rs. 832, excluding transportation cost. They said the local people don’t have the purchasing power and on the other side there was no assurance of subsidies from Government side.
The local traders have however purchased 100 tonnes of fertiliser, rice, sugar, vegetables, cooking oil, noodles and some other items which are not as important as flour and petroleum items.
This situation has further reduced the hope of local people to get supply of basic necessities from China on humanitarian basis.
Meanwhile, about 500 people mostly students and patients from Gojal are stranded in Gulmit and Aliabad due to suspension of the helicopter services for last many days due to movement of VIPs and bad weather conditions. The local community has demanded of the government to ensure the service of an Army helicopter as due to the regular suspension of the service the local communities are facing a lot of problems. Talking to this scribe, some community members said that the present helicopter has the capacity to carry only 12 people or 20 bags of flour which is not enough to satisfy transportation needs of the twenty five thousand stranded people.
6 comments February 7, 2010
PT crosses ONE MILLION HITS
Pamir Times crossed a milestone tonight, entertaining 1, 000, 000 + visits, starting on October 23, 2007. 13, 223 comments have been approved and over 1600 posts have been made on the most popular blog of Gilgit – Balitstan.
Thank you dear visitors 
Noor on behalf of Team Pamir Times
14 comments February 6, 2010
[Pictory] Shishkat – Gulmit Bridge in danger
Photo of the Shishkat – Gulmit Bridge taken 3 days ago. The bridge will submerge in the artificial lake within two weeks according to reliable sources. Submerging of the bridge would disconnect Shishkat from rest of the valley.
Courtesy: FOCUS Pakistan
7 comments February 6, 2010
