Health Minister Naseer Khan says more than fifty percent of the human resources have been destroyed in quake affected areas of Azad Kashmir and North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The quake was a national and international human tragedy, the minister told Voice of America in an interview. He said there were a total of six doctors in Balakot before the October 8 killer quake but none of them is alive. In Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, Khan said 90 percent of the infrastructure is damaged. "In the first 24 hours we had no idea of what is happening. It was only after the visit of these areas that the actual position came to the notice of authorities," the minister said. He said the international community also rushed to know the facts. "Initially the magnitude of the catastrophe did not appear to be so immense and we had no idea that above seventy five thousand people were injured," he added. However, the minister said, when the situation came to the notice of authorities, prompt action was taken and the entire government machinery along with whole of the nation got involved in rescue and relief activities. Khan said now a number of field hospitals are working in the affected areas while the seriously injured have been transferred to a number of hospitals countrywide. Now twenty teams of doctors are being sent for immunization against tetanus and typhoid in the affected areas, the minister said.
