Re: Muslim states send condolences and aid to Pakistan
Orissa Muslims pray for their relatives in Pakistan
Separated by a border and 58 years of partition but inextricably linked by strong family ties, scores of families here fearfully watch footage of quake hit areas on Pakistan Television (PTV) for some news of their relatives. Like M.H. Rahman, 30, of Fakirabad village near Kendrapada who is glued to the television watching PTV as well as other news channels as details of the Oct 8 tremors that killed about 24,000 people in Pakistan and 1,300 in India pour in. His grandfather, Mirza Aishar Beg, has been in Pakistan since 1948 and the intervening years have not dulled the familial spark. “Every gory footage of the devastation on TV leaves my heart pounding in fear and anxiety,” Rahman told IANS. “My grandfather’s family is staying in a town 45 km from Muzaffarabad (in Pakistan administered Kashmir) for more than five decades. I have been unable to speak to any of them since the day the earthquake struck in Pakistan,” he said. The ties have just recently been reinforced. Rahman had visited Pakistan for three months last year. “Last year, I had visited Pakistan and stayed for three months with my grandfather and other relatives. Now, we can only pray for their safety.”
There are at least 75 other families like Rahman’s in the area whose relatives moved to Pakistan at the time of partition in 1947. In this holy month of Ramzan, special prayers are being held in mosques in the district to pray for the victims of the disaster. Many have been running from pillar to post hoping for some information about their families in Pakistan after the massive earthquake. Abuta from Dilarpur village, for instance, is anxious for news about his aunt Tahera Khatun who lives near the Pakistan capital Islamabad. The Eid fervour has been dampened. Said the 58-year-old: “I came to know from my son about Saturday’s 7.6 quake that struck Pakistan. I am frantically trying to know the whereabouts of my mother’s sister and her family members. This is the holy month of Ramzan. The disaster has shattered our hopes for a happy Eid.” The scenes of devastation unfolding on TV has made people nervous. Telephone lines can perhaps restore their confidence - and faith that all is well with their families on the other side of the border.
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