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Pakistan Press Room

On the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid-al-Fitr, traditionally a joyous time, Musara buried her 12-year-old son, Awaiz Asmat, who was killed in the earthquake.

A violent earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck areas near the Pakistan-India border at 8:50 am (local time in Pakistan) on 8 October 2005 -- the strongest and most devastating quake in Pakistan's history. Tens of thousands of children are in peril in remote earthquake-affected parts of Pakistan because of deteriorating weather, injury, and illness. Immediate steps must be taken to boost the number of children being reached if a second wave of deaths is to be averted during the harsh winter months now arriving.

UNICEF Executive Director Ann. M. Veneman said that it is now believed that children will be dying despite the best efforts of government, aid agencies and local communities. “There simply are not enough resources on the ground to prevent needless deaths,” she said. “In the Tsunami disaster we could say there were no serious outbreaks of life-threatening diseases. In the quake zone, however, with winter fast approaching, we fear that lack of access will be measured by child deaths.”

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