But for the high-visibility collapse of the Margalla Towers, the world might not have awoken so instantaneously to the massive scale of destruction caused by the earthquake that struck north-western Pakistan and Azad Kashmir in October 2005.
The destruction caused by the earthquake was widespread and thousands perished, but it was the graphic scene of the razed to the ground 10-storey condominium in the heart of Islamabad that showcased the enormity of the catastrophe. The media adopted the collapsed structure as symbol of the tragedy, evoking unprecedented sympathetic response at home and abroad.
As international donors committed over six billion dollars towards relief and rehabilitation of the affected people, a visit to the Margalla Towers became a ritualistic must for everyone, local or foreigner, whose heart melted over the tragic happening.
However, 18 months down the road while a few relief and rehabilitation works have been completed in the inaccessible mountainous regions, the victims of the Margalla Towers are still running from pillar to the post in search of some relief, even if only symbolic. In fact, things have worsened for them: House rent, paid to them by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on the order of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in a suo moto case was suspended a day after the filing of the presidential reference against the Chief Justice.
Addressing a news conference the other day, a spokesman of the victims of the Margalla Towers has now requested the Acting Chief Justice Rana Bhagwandas to take suo moto action against the present CDA chairman and his predecessors for this "construction tragedy".
It was not an earthquake tragedy, as all these chairmen knew that this structure built in violation of the design plan with "substandard material" as a CDA's joint venture with a private contractor, Ramzan Khokhar, was bound to collapse. The fact that an inquiry into the faulty construction of the Margalla Towers conducted by the former relief commissioner, Major General Farooq (Retd), is not being made public proves the CDA's vested interest in hiding the facts, says the victims spokesman. And as to the repatriation of Ramzan Khokhar, the victims complain that the British government is refusing to help, although Pakistan handed over post-haste the British national Mirza Tahir, the convicted murderer of a Pakistani, he adds.
But what has really set the victims aflame with anger is the inordinate delay in action on a report that is gathering dust in the Prime Minister's office. On the first anniversary of the earthquake tragedy, Shaukat Aziz had pledged to pay compensation to the Margalla Towers victims, who had not only lost the roof over their heads but also lost 72 close kith and kin. Consequent to his pledge a committee, comprising four federal secretaries, was set up to prepare the relief package.
The secretaries say they submitted their report to the Prime Minister but his office says it has not received the secretaries' report. That has left the victims with no other option but to stage protest marches and to make pleas to the Acting Chief Justice of Pakistan for suo moto action. Given the bureaucratic callousness, that so unabashedly undermines the writ of the elected government, one would not be surprised to see the widows, orphans and other victims of the Margalla Towers tragedy once gain standing under the burning summer sun before the parliament.
They would be joining scores of others who come every day when the parliament is in session to protest against the excesses inflicted by the bureaucracy. But it is a moot question if this parliament can really secure relief for them.
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