Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

FROM THE FIELD

Pakistan quake reconstruction work disrupted
19 Jul 2007 09:03:00 GMT
Source: Plan UK
Caroline Robeson

Website: Website: http://www.plan-uk.org

506707 logo
Previous | Next

Plan
Crucial reconstruction work following the devastating 2005 Pakistan earthquake is being disrupted following this week's mosque siege.

Plan has introduced curfews for women staff and restricted men from all but essential travel.

Attacks on NGO buildings and vehicles in the Siran Valley, North West Frontier Province, have already caused tens of thousands of pounds of damage.

Plan Pakistan communications manager, Natasha Kamal, says: "The danger is not from the communities that we work with, we have always been welcomed by them all.

"It is the fundamentalists working in the area that are the point of contention.

"The point is that all these extremists target NGO's as they have expatriate staff and their belief is that these organisations are here to promote western interests."

Plan is building 10 schools in the Siran Valley after the massive quake which killed 75,000 people across the region in October 2005.

But tension between Islamists and the secular government has intensified during the week-long siege of militants holed up in the Red Mosque, Islamabad.

A vicious 35-hour gun battle ended the stand-off on Wednesday during which 75 Islamists and 11 soldiers were killed.

Ms Kamal, aged 40, says: "The attitude of Plan communities is still the same, as they know through experience that we have always worked at supporting them.

"But there are so many other elements that are points of concern, like political parties, religious leaders and extremists.

"They don't want development because it makes people stronger and gives them the power to question them and their actions - so they harass organisations like ours.

"The feeling of unease and insecurity is there across the nation, not just with us, as these extremists are spread wide and far and they threaten every citizen of this country."


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]


Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Children

•  Earthquakes

MORE >>

Emergencies

•  Pakistan violence

•  Pakistan/India earthquake

MORE >>

Members

•  Plan UK

MORE >>

Countries

Small country map
© 2004 Europa Technologies Ltd.
Reset map

•  Pakistan profile
· View map

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Pakistan quake reconstruction work disrupted
Plan UK

•  Additional funds needed to help Pakistani flood survivors
IFRC - Switzerland

•  CWS Appeal: Pakistan 2007 flood response
CWS

•  London school mixes business with charity
WER - UK

•  Mobile clinic treating hundreds affected by Pakistan floods
Merlin - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Pakistan's Habib Bank denies Pearl allegations

•  TEPCO shares dive on risk of lengthy shutdown

•  FEATURE-Palestinians in Gaza appeal for more aid

•  Pakistan Islamists warn Musharraf risking civil war

•  Bombs in north, south Pakistan kill at least 32

MORE >>

Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Thu Jul 19 09:10:52 2007