internationalsos.com - Press releases
Increasing Violence in Pakistan13 October 2005Pakistan Incidents of violence continue to be reported in the areas affected by the 8 October 2005 earthquake on the Indian Subcontinent. International SOS has deployed a team to the region to assist clients with medical and security needs. International SOS in-country sources report that looting has increased in Muzaffarabad and remote villages in Azad Kashmir in the Pakistan-administered region, the area most affected by the magnitude 7.6 earthquake. A search and rescue team member was reportedly attacked by an unarmed villager in Muzaffarabad. Gunfire has been heard in parts of Muzaffarabad, suggesting an increase in violence as a result of delayed delivery of aid to parts of Azad Kashmir. In the India-administered region of Kashmir, Indian relief agencies have commenced humanitarian operations in the northern parts of Jammu & Kashmir state. Srinagar, the main city, is the base of humanitarian operations. International SOS Comment We advise our members to defer travel to Azad Kashmir and the North West Frontier Provinces of Pakistan and India's Jammu & Kashmir region until the humanitarian situation has stabilized, unless travel is for rescue and relief operations. Humanitarian agencies should be alert to the possibility of violence as a result of delays in relief operations. Foreign aid workers in areas where incidents of violence have occurred or are likely to occur should seek the assistance of national security troops before proceeding to a high-risk location. Members |
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