KARACHI: The leadership of Businessmen Group and office bearers of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) have expressed deep grief and sorrow over colossal loss of lives caused by an extremely horrifying and lethal earthquake of 8.1 magnitude which terribly struck Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces in Pakistan on Monday afternoon, besides hitting Afghanistan’s sparsely populated Badakhshan province.
In a statement issued, Chairman Businessmen Group and Former President KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli, Vice Chairmen BMG Tahir Khaliq, Zubair Motiwala, Haroon Farooki and Anjum Nisar, President KCCI Younus Muhammad Bashir, Senior Vice President KCCI Zia Ahmed Khan and Vice President KCCI Muhammad Naeem Sharif noted that more than 270 people have fallen prey to this devastating earthquake so far and thousands have been injured whereas more than 2,000 houses were also damaged in various cities and villages in Pakistan, particularly those situated in KPK province. They feared that the losses caused by worst-ever earthquake in the history of Pakistan may rise further on completion of rescue operation and the evaluation being carried out by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
They said that our brother and sisters, particularly those inhabiting in far-flung and impoverished areas of the country, should not be left alone in this hour of grief and need. It is the duty of everyone to help and support the affectees during the most difficult time of their lives.
BMG leadership and KCCI Office Bearers, while appreciating the quick response of Pakistani government and the armed forces towards this tragic incident , said that the government of Pakistan and the military forces were doing a fine job by promptly undertaking rescue operation and immediately dispatching relief goods and medical teams to the quake-hit areas of Pakistan.
Underscoring the need to devise an effective strategy for effectively dealing with such situations, they advised the government to make National and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities more proactive with a view to minimize the sufferings caused by these natural calamities which have been striking this region every year in shape of earthquakes, torrential rainfalls and flashfloods. They were of the view that besides losses of precious human lives, the economy also suffers badly every year due to such frequent natural calamities. Thus, it is high time to rethink the strategies so that the losses being suffered by the nation and the economy could be minimized.
BMG leadership and KCCI Office Bearers, while praying for the wellbeing of people affected by the natural disaster as well as their recovery from the trauma and pain, offered heartfelt condolences to those families who lost their loved ones in this tragic incident.
