2005 earthquake victims remembered

MANSEHRA: The people of Balakot, where over 20,000 people had died and the town completely reduced to rubble in the 2005 earthquake, observed the 13th anniversary of the tragedy amid agonies and tears on Monday.

A ceremony was held at the mass graves of over 80 students in Government Higher Secondary School where Quran Khwani was also offered.

The participants also offered fateha and observed silence for a minute for the quake victims.

The traders observed a complete shutdown to mark the day and took out a rally, also attended by Member National Assembly (MNA) Saleh Mohammad Khan and president of traders union Javed Iqbal.

The rally, which was taken out to express solidarity with the victims of the devastating earthquake, culminated at the central Ayub Bridge.

“We cannot forget this day, October 8, when this city crumbled to ruins and over 20,000 people died but nobody was there to even rescue those still breathing that time,” Saleh Mohammad Khan told the gathering. He said that hurdles in way of development of New Balakot City housing project had been removed and time was not far when over 4,000 families settled in prefabricated shelters in the red zone would be allotted lands there.