TODAY, 18 years ago, I was at my office in Rawalpindi early in the morning around 9am when the ground under my feet started shaking. In less than a few seconds, it was obvious that the area was in the middle of some high-intensity earthquake. I had no idea of the seriousness of the matter at the time, but soon enough it was obvious that it was something unprecedented.

A little while later, everybody started reaching out for their phones to establish contact with their dear and near ones. I was no different. All my attempts to get in touch with my folks in Balakot, our hometown, failed, raising my level of anxiety.

At around noon, my cellphone rang. My younger brother, an eye specialist in Mansehra, was at the other end. He was sobbing uncontrollably as it conveyed the tragic news that Balakot had been destroyed by the earthquake. “I am standing on the heap of rubble and dust,” he said in a trembling voice.

Stunned, I dashed to Balakot, the gateway to Kaghan valley situated on either side of river Kunhar. As I approached the outskirts of the town, the scenes were horrible. Balakot had flung headlong into death and misery.

Subsequently, the government announced plans to purchase land and set up ‘New Balakot City’ about 20km down the earthquake-hit town, and allotted the plots to the affectees

after a thorough survey. Since that announcement, 18 years have passed, but the possession of those plots is nowhere on the horizon. Many have left the world for the hereafter dreaming about their dream homes. This is a tragic joke successive governments have been playing with the hapless people of the area. The area residents have been left to fend for themselves, but even when they have been forgotten, the locals have learnt not to despair. They have built Balakot anew.

There has not been a single instance of beggary or demand for charity from the locals. They have not resorted to taking up arms or violence. All they did was to hold peaceful protests for a while, and when they failed, they moved on, turning a new page in life knowing that the rulers, regardless of their political divide, were as incorrigible as they have always been.

Muhammad Saleem
Balakot

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2023