Azad Jammu & Kashmir
Woke up this morning with a splitting headache (the two panadols I took last night gave me only slight relief). It must be the consequent of the arduous coach ride we had the last two days. You see, we started our visit to Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) on Sunday with a night-stopover at Murree. Murree, situated about 7,000 feet, is a highland tourist destination for the locals and also Pakistanis as far away as Karachi. The journey was slow as we traveled in an convoy of six coaches. At the top, it was chilly as the temperature plummeted to almost zero during the evening when we arrived. We stopped at army unit for some hot tea and fresh pakora before we checked in (only the allied officers - as the local officers were boarded at the army lodges) at the Pearl Continental. Our stay at this beautiful hotel was only for dinner, night cap and breakfast and we paid USD 100!!
The next day, we started early to AJK. It was a long and difficult journey, mostly downhill through a winding road. Certain parts the road was damaged due to the recent earthquake and the coach had to carefully negotiate through landslides and crevice. The ride became more exciting whenever we had to overtake big overloaded trucks. We arrived Muzaffarabad (the capital of AJK) at 1100 am for again a nice cup of Kashmiri tea and more pakora.
AJK (freed states of Jammu & Kashmir) is the Paksitani part of the divide and for its history and other literature its official website can be viewed here. On 8 Oct 05, AJK was devastated by an earthquake and the epicentre was actually at Muzaffarabad. We were actually supposed to visit Muzaffarabad in middle of October, but was postponed due to the calamity. Well, this city was almost completely ruined. We saw many damaged buildings, homes, hospitals and schools (the Neelum hotel, where we were supposed to stay during our earlier proposed visit actually disappeared into the Neelum river) Many of the affectees are placed in tents and makeshift shelters. In AJK the earthquake destroyed more than 240,000 houses leaving 43,000 dead and injuring 30,000. It was a sheer devastation.
Currently, No 12 Div of Pakistan Army is in-charge of reconstruction. The Div Commander told us that the challengers are the reconstruction of shelters, schools, hospitals, roads, the maintenance of law and order, transportation of goods to effected areas (mostly done by helicopters), prevention of epidemics, provides medical and trauma attention and provides safety for foreigners and NGOs. To assist them, AJK also has many foreign troops from US and NATO forces plus assistance from the UN. At the height of the search and rescue efforts, a total of 16 foreign teams were present, including Malaysian SMART.
We finished off our visit with the President of AJK (an ex-Maj General and also NDC trained). During the dialogue, I managed to ask him a question about the opportunities of people to people contacts between the two sides of Kashmir that can provide impetus towards final destination of peaceful settlement.
After the dialogue we were feasted with Kashmiri delight, including a delicious Kashmiri mutton kourma (similar to our own kourma).
With full tummy and our thoughts with the unfortunate Kashmiris, we started our journey back to Islamabad. This time round we did not stop at Murree. Again it was through the long and winding road, uphill to Murree and downhill towards Islamabad. We arrived campus at 8 pm, with swirling heads.
The next day, we started early to AJK. It was a long and difficult journey, mostly downhill through a winding road. Certain parts the road was damaged due to the recent earthquake and the coach had to carefully negotiate through landslides and crevice. The ride became more exciting whenever we had to overtake big overloaded trucks. We arrived Muzaffarabad (the capital of AJK) at 1100 am for again a nice cup of Kashmiri tea and more pakora.
AJK (freed states of Jammu & Kashmir) is the Paksitani part of the divide and for its history and other literature its official website can be viewed here. On 8 Oct 05, AJK was devastated by an earthquake and the epicentre was actually at Muzaffarabad. We were actually supposed to visit Muzaffarabad in middle of October, but was postponed due to the calamity. Well, this city was almost completely ruined. We saw many damaged buildings, homes, hospitals and schools (the Neelum hotel, where we were supposed to stay during our earlier proposed visit actually disappeared into the Neelum river) Many of the affectees are placed in tents and makeshift shelters. In AJK the earthquake destroyed more than 240,000 houses leaving 43,000 dead and injuring 30,000. It was a sheer devastation.
Currently, No 12 Div of Pakistan Army is in-charge of reconstruction. The Div Commander told us that the challengers are the reconstruction of shelters, schools, hospitals, roads, the maintenance of law and order, transportation of goods to effected areas (mostly done by helicopters), prevention of epidemics, provides medical and trauma attention and provides safety for foreigners and NGOs. To assist them, AJK also has many foreign troops from US and NATO forces plus assistance from the UN. At the height of the search and rescue efforts, a total of 16 foreign teams were present, including Malaysian SMART.
We finished off our visit with the President of AJK (an ex-Maj General and also NDC trained). During the dialogue, I managed to ask him a question about the opportunities of people to people contacts between the two sides of Kashmir that can provide impetus towards final destination of peaceful settlement.
After the dialogue we were feasted with Kashmiri delight, including a delicious Kashmiri mutton kourma (similar to our own kourma).
With full tummy and our thoughts with the unfortunate Kashmiris, we started our journey back to Islamabad. This time round we did not stop at Murree. Again it was through the long and winding road, uphill to Murree and downhill towards Islamabad. We arrived campus at 8 pm, with swirling heads.
posted by besutian at 8:17 AM
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