In a Press conference, Asma Jahangir and Hunza residents demanded of the government to take notice of the [...]]]> LAHORE : Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Chairperson Asma Jahangir has asked the government to take notice of the miserable condition of the residents of Attaabad, Gojal Hunza Valley badly hit by landslide on Jan 4.

In a Press conference, Asma Jahangir and Hunza residents demanded of the government to take notice of the calamity hit area and provide relief to the suffering people. HRCP Punjab Vice-Chairman Dr Mehdi Hassan, Convenor Joint Action Committee for Peoples Rights Shahtaj Qazilbash, Nadeem Anthony, Sher Ali, Malika and Hussain Naqi Jahangir were also present on the occasion.

As per information received till January 12, more than 13 dead bodies had been recovered out of total 19 casualties, 9 people injured and 550 persons had been affected while 1652 families displaced from four villages ie, Ghariat Bala, Payeen, Sarat Centre and Salmanabad. One camp has been established near village Altit where 559 IDPs are registered so far.

The Hunza residents said that as a result of landslide and continuous movement of the rock mass, Gojal had been cut off from other parts of Hunza and Gilgit. It would take almost 1-2 months to clear the road. A reservoir had started to develop at the back of the barrier and water inflow is accumulating in the reservoir at a discharge rate of approximately 350 m3/sec (satellite image interpretation).
According to the local council Hunza correspondent water had been rising at a rate of 0.6 feet/hour as noted on January 6.

Attaabad is a remote village situated on the right bank of Hunza River (downstream direction) at a ground distance of almost 20km from the tehsil headquarter, Aliabad in NE direction. The village constitutes about 80 households, two middle schools (one AKES and one Govt middle school) one dispensary where only first aid treatment was available. Attabad landslide incident occurred on January 4, 2010 at 12:15 am, and due to that, the entire river valley had been blocked.

Water has inundated to the low-lying area of Aienabad and Shishkut may submerge if the dam is not breached by discharging water with help of machinery in time. _Daily Times

Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is seriously concerned at the plight of the landslide victims in Upper Hunza and calls upon the federal government to expedite its relief efforts. Hit by landslide on January 4 last, the Gojal Tehsil in Upper Hunza was cut off from Lower Hunza and the rest of the [...]]]> By Asma Jahangir (Chairperson HRCP)

Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is seriously concerned at the plight of the landslide victims in Upper Hunza and calls upon the federal government to expedite its relief efforts.


Hit by landslide on January 4 last, the Gojal Tehsil in Upper Hunza was cut off from Lower Hunza and the rest of the country owing to the obstruction of Karakorum Highway and Hunza River after massive landslide at Atabad. The river turned into a lake with and its water level has been rising ever since. At present, more than 75 households in Gojal are affected. The local people have already cut more than 8000 trees to save them from rotting in the flood water. For the last one month, the local people in Upper Hunza have been facing difficulties in meeting their basic needs as expensive imports from China through Khunjrab are the only source of supplies available.

Although the National Disaster Management Authority has started work to open the road and clear the blockage of the river, the pace of work is too slow. HRCP is of the view that the government needs to expedite the relief work and opening up of the blocked road and river. If the government lacks the technical and human resources in providing a speedy relief, it should seek support from international experts such as Chinese government which is already carrying out construction work in the area. Meanwhile, while the Upper Hunza road links are cut off, HRCP urges the government to make arrangements to provide food items and medicines to the affected people. They should not be left at the mercy of profiteers and hoarders.

Source : http://www.hrcp-web.org/fullstory.asp?id=9