MIRPUR, Oct 06 (APP): In Azad Jammu Kashmir, all is almost set to commemorate the 19th anniversary of history’s worst killer earthquake of October 8, 2005, across Azad Jammu & Kashmir on Tuesday, Oct. 8, with due serious feelings, respect, and determination as the National Disaster Awareness Day, with the glorious tributes to be paid to the martyrs and other victims of history’s most-worst deadly catastrophe of high magnitude in the region.
A grand ceremony to be hosted by the Kashmir Orphan Relief Trust (KORT) and Educational Complex at Akhterabad in Mirpur, dwelling at least 452 orphan and shelterless children, mostly those who had fallen orphan and homeless in the deadly earthquake of October 8, 2005 in Azad Jammu Kashmir, will be the hallmark of the 19th anniversary of history’s worst catastrophe to be commemorated in this lake district simultaneously with the rest of AJK.
When contacted, Sardar Sajid Dilawar, Country Director of the KORT, told APP here on Sunday that a major grand ceremony will be held at 6.00 in the evening on Tuesday at the mega KORT complex at Akhterabad, in the outskirts of this lake city.
AJK Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Chaudhry will be the Chief Guest on this occasion, also to be attended by the dweller children of the KORT besides the dignitaries and the representatives of all classes of the civil society.
Ch. Akhter Kashmir Waala, the founder of the KORT, the largest shelter home in South Asia, housing over 452 orphan and shelterless children—mostly those who were rendered homeless and orphan following the killer earthquake of October 2005 in Muzaffarabad and various adjoining parts of AJK and KPK—told APP here Sunday that the ceremony to pay rich tributes to the victims of history’s worst catastrophe will be attended among others by the AJK PM, the dignitaries—besides social workers, volunteers, and heads of various nation-building institutions—to observe the anniversary with due respect and prayers for the victims of the devastating calamity.
The anniversary will be observed as the national day of awareness about safety from the national disasters to mark the 19th anniversary of the calamity as a ‘day of firmness and determination for reconstruction—in memory of earthquake martyrs, coupled with special prayers for the rest of the departed souls of the quake victims in eternal peace and to express sympathies and solidarity with the survivorss of history’s worst natural catastrophe. It will be a gazetted holiday throughout AJK State.
Another major ceremony to mark the day will be held at the capital city of Muzaffarabad, with the sign of deep-rooted love and affection by the government and the people of Pakistan, as well as the national and international NGO’s and brotherly foreign countries that had contributed their exceptional share of generous assistance for the rebuilding and rehabilitation of the quake-hit zone of AJK, the concerned state authorities told a news agency.
In Mirpur, the major ceremony will be held where fateha Khawani will be offered for the martyrs, and simultaneously with the rest of the country, sirens were blown at 8.52 a.m., and two minutes of silence will be observed in the mourning of the victims of the catastrophe at a ceremony to be started at Quaid-e-Azam Cricket Stadium in the morning of October 8, local authorities said when contacted here on Sunday.
The official sources unveil the scheduled programs of the anniversary of deadly catastrophe in all three districts of Mirpur division, including Mirpur, Kotli, and Bhimber districts.
Concerned district authorities in all three districts of Mirpur division have given final touches to the programs of the anniversary in this division.
Similar special ceremonies, including walks for awareness, seminars, and symposiums, will also be held in all other parts of AJK in the memory of the martyrs of the devastating earthquake, which left over 75 thousand people dead and lakhs of others injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
The ceremonies will also be attended by people representing all walks of life, including social and political workers, lawyers, journalists, and members of the business fraternity, to pay glorious tributes to the victims of history’s worst catastrophe this day 19 years ago in 2005.