President General Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday said that the Government "is committed to rehabilitation of vulnerable earthquake victims", including orphaned children, widows and disabled persons through an integrated approach aimed at providing them adequate shelter, education, healthcare and economic opportunities.
He was addressing a meeting which discussed matters related to handling of patients in hospitals, rehabilitation of refugees after helping them to overcome the shock, assistance required in their return to their areas as quickly as possible, distribution of compensation amounts and assistance in rebuilding of their individual houses.
The meeting was attended by Health Minister Muhammad Naseer Khan, Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Zubaida Jalal, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Aneesa Zeb Taherkheli, Advisor to the PM on Women Development Neelofar Bakhtiar and Federal Relief Commissioner Major General Farooq Ahmed Khan.
The meeting stressed that no patient would be discharged from hospital without being registered, after which they should be taken to affiliated convalescence centres. These centres have been set up in Rawalpindi and Islamabad and later on would also be established in the quake-affected areas.
It was also agreed that after proper identification, orphaned children and those still without their parents, destitute women and those needing rehabilitation would be taken care of by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education. Others, who would find their relatives, would go back to their homes.
The meeting also discussed quick distribution of compensation to those individuals and families who needed to re-construct individual houses, "which are not part of towns or cities" but are situated in outlying areas.
The meeting was informed that distribution of money would be properly recorded and photographed so as to obviate any chance of misappropriation.
The President emphasised the need for integrating all efforts to ensure proper health, education, shelter and development opportunities for orphaned children, widows, and the destitute affected by October 8 earthquake in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and NWFP.
Musharraf directed that special care should be taken to look after the hospitalised people and said that in addition to all concerned ministries and government departments, the entire society has to come forward to pull them out of shock.
"The government will pay special attention to these people at dedicated centres, but all segments of the society including the non-governmental organisations should contribute to these efforts, as we have to enable these people to rebuild their lives," he said.
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