DISASTER MANAGEMENT AT NATIONAL LEVEL AND EVALUATION OF ROLE OF PAKISTAN ARMY

Abstract

Pakistan is vulnerable to the natural disasters due to its geographical location and climate conditions. Being located at seismic belt 11 major earthquakes have occurred in the region during last century out of which 3 major earthquakes have taken place since 2001 resulting in thousands of casualties. Similarly Pakistan is one of the five South Asian countries with the highest annual average number of people physically exposed to floods. These two disasters have struck Pakistan on regular intervals causing damage to people and property over billion of Rupees. Pakistan has been prone to other forms of natural and manmade disasters like cyclones, drought, terrorism etc. Disaster Management is relatively a new concept. Developing countries are generally inclined towards managing response to a disaster than addressing the underlying conditions that lead to catastrophic events. No nation can prevent disasters, yet infrastructure and mechanisms help in limiting the fallout. The earthquake of 2005 and recent floods of 2010 in Pakistan have brought the stark reality to the forefront that our current capacity to handle crises and disaster needs to be enhanced through an integrated approach. The management of disasters has not been to the required standards either due to the lack of understanding at Government and society level or due to lack of requisite resources. The lack of effective disaster management realization and right prioritization has led to more human disasters than any other single factor. Quicker, safer and uninterrupted supply of materials is essential in crisis situations to save precious time, human lives and save cost. Distribution of foods, medicines and shelter to affected people can make the critical difference in managing disasters. The study has been made to help Government Departments, local government, civil society and NGOs in addressing the crisis situations in Pakistan and help plan future disaster responses. The disaster management all around the world is affectively managed by Armed Forces. The forces play a very major role during the disasters and being well trained and disciplined have a very effective role in managing the disaster affected people. In Pakistan particularly Armed Forces have always been involved in any of the disasters striking any parts of the country. The first agency to respond to any need after the disasters is Pakistan Army. The civilian agencies and departments have serious management and organizational issues due to which their output and performance have been short of the desired results. Therefore Armed Forces have been and would continue to be the first responder to the national needs at the time of disasters. However it is felt that Armed Forces and Pakistan Army in particular have not devised proper mechanism to handle the disasters. The equipment and training required for the disasters need special attention to do the job in an effective manner. The recent disasters have again established the fact that there is a need to comprehensively evaluate the disaster threat in Pakistan and devise proper mechanism for effective disaster management by Pakistan Army. It is felt that this subject warrants thorough research since managing disasters may not have been conceived in a comprehensive manner in the past. This paper essentially considers v and evaluates the present crises and disaster management arrangements by Pakistan Army with a view to analyze impediments which can be addressed by adopting management techniques. The practices being followed currently by other armies in the world have been studied in order to draw relevant lessons for Pakistan Army. Finally a Disaster Management Model for Pakistan Army has been formulated with recommendations.