![\"\"](\"http:\/\/umang.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/UK\u2019s-Mirpur-community-mourns-quake-victims-Newspaper.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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Thousands of kilometers away from their loved ones in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) earthquake, British Pakistanis with roots in the region expressed their sadness and frustration after the disaster on Tuesday night. <\/p>\n
"There have been 10 deaths in my town," said Sanawar Hussain, originally from the city of Jatlan. Although his father moved to London in the 1960s and he in the 1990s, Hussain's extended family still lives there. "The level of sadness I feel is unimaginable." <\/p>\n
Hussain's hometown is possibly one of the most affected by the powerful earthquake that swept through northern Pakistan on September 24, killing 38 people and leaving scores of wounded. With its epicenter in New Mirpur City, the main city of the district, the destruction in the area has been shocking. At least 200 of the 452 people injured are residents of Jatlan. Of the total injuries, 160 have been recorded as critical. <\/p>\n
The Kashmir diaspora was watching with fear how images of shattered roads and gutted houses circulated in their WhatsApp groups. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis afternoon was torture since I couldn't communicate with my friends. Mobile networks fell and electricity was cut, \u201dHussain said, adding that the main link roads suffered serious damage. \u201cMy fear is that they can't get the medications they need. The night will be difficult for them. " <\/p>\n
\nQuestions posed on natural disaster preparedness <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Tasalat Hussain, owner of a carpet business based in East London, said he was worried about his younger brother and uncle in Mirpur. "People are so terrified that my relatives tell me that some have not yet returned to their homes for fear of another earthquake." He added that it was crucial that people had shelter, since those whose homes had been destroyed had no roof. over their heads <\/p>\n
The pain that these men described was felt by thousands of cashmere that lived in cities throughout the United Kingdom. AJK, particularly Mirpur, has a deep affinity with the United Kingdom, where the majority of the Pakistani population of over one million have roots in Mirpur. Mass migration from Mirpur to Britain began in the 1960s when thousands of people had to leave their homes while the massive Mangla hydroelectric dam was being built. The British government welcomed them by satisfying the demand of factory workers and facilitated their settlement in the Midlands and northern England. <\/p>\n
Over the years, the Kashmir diaspora maintained its ties with its hometown. Through remittances, British Pakistanis have invested in the improvement and development of their hometown, which some proudly call "little England." <\/p>\n
After the earthquake, Deputy Shabana Mahmood of Birmingham Ladywood tweeted her condolences. \u201cMy family originates in Mirpur, near the epicenter of the earthquake. The United Kingdom must provide all the support it can to help those affected by this tragedy. " <\/p>\n
Preparation<\/strong><\/p>\n
Pakistan High Commissioner for the United Kingdom, Nafees Zakaria, said Dawn<\/em>: \u201cI am establishing an emergency center. There will be an exclusive desk with an official to receive Kashmir calls here who want to know about the welfare and whereabouts of their loved ones. My team is communicating with the AJK government so that a contact person can be appointed to interact with them. \u201d <\/p>\n
It is largely due to this relationship and nostalgia that the British Pakistani community in the United Kingdom feels the loss of lives and devastation in Mirpur so deeply. But while they pray for their families, some raise questions about preparing for such natural disasters. <\/p>\n
"After the 2005 earthquake in AJK, the authorities knew that the area is in a fault," said Tahseen Gilani, originally from Kotli, and president of JKLF UK. He added that the government should have invested in rescue services, as well as in technology that monitors seismic activity. <\/p>\n
"Even the fire brigade does not respond on time. Recently, I was told of an incident at home when a furniture store caught fire. The fire truck arrived after 30 minutes. And when it did, the generator would not work. Members from the community they had to organize a private tank truck to put out the flames. "<\/p>\n
Posted in Dawn, September 26, 2019<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/pre>\n<\/pre>\n
Source: https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1507414\/uks-mirpur-community-mourns-quake-victims<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thousands of kilometers away from their loved ones in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) earthquake, British Pakistanis with roots in the region expressed their sadness and frustration after the disaster on Tuesday night. "There have been 10 deaths in my town," said Sanawar Hussain, originally from the city of Jatlan. Although his father moved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[11077],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newspaper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}