RISING FROM THE RUBBLE: AJK'S SOCIO-ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION AFTER 2005 EARTHQUAKE

Abstract

The current study has discussed about the socio-economic change in Azar Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) following the devastating earthquake of 2005 that claimed the lives of over 73,000 people and displaced others. In the research design, the 400 respondents completed structured questionnaires in four districts and was also employed using a mixed research design, which entailed the use of 25 semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders of the study. The secondary information was collected in the shape of governmental reports, international organizations, and academic sources related to the issue that appeared between 2005 and 2020. The quantitative analysis through using SPSS revealed that the progress on infrastructure, economic factors and livelihood opportunities was great and the qualitative thematic analysis served to identify five themes, namely, community resilience, institutional reforms, economic diversification, social cohesion, and sustainable development practices. The findings have revealed that AJK has achieved a lot in terms of socio-economic development even after the area was destroyed at the onset of the reconstruction process with the aid of the international community, and policy interventions. The paper concludes that disaster recovery as an incident that is under control can turn out to be a catalyst of positive change within a particular area. It is advised that the continued investment in disaster preparedness, sustainable infrastructure and community-based practices of development be maintained so as to make sure the trend appears positive and the trend would be maintained in the same direction as it had been constituted within the post-earthquake reconstruction phase.