Otherwise over some months they would acquire immunity against pain and deprivation and outside help would be of no great consequence to them. Nonetheless, winding up the debate on the killer quake in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz flashed a message of hope to the stricken people.
The victims will not be abandoned, their houses would be rebuilt and their children - to quote an NGO slogan - would not be treated as children of a lesser god.
But the opposition is sceptical about his capability to deliver on it, insisting that since the military is calling the shots there is little hope of his succeeding. The army failed the people, said every second speaker during the three-week debate on the national disaster.
However, this glaring mismatch of perceptions and perspectives will soon disappear, as the snow would cover the mountaintops and then the valleys. Wounds too would heal or fester warranting amputations and the amputees would learn to strut around on crutches or wooden feet.
Time is the healer, not only in the physical sense, but also as a balm that induces oblivion. By the time these mountain people would emerge from the winter they would be immune to the need of outside help.
The fact is that the people of Pakistan were never prepared to face this devastation of Biblical dimensions. Yet the manner they responded to the tragedy was magnificent. Yes, the armed forces should not run the country but can one reasonably presume that a civilian outfit could face the October 8 challenge without the help of the armed forces.
Way back in 70s, when an equally strong quake with epicenter at Bisham violently jolted a large swath of land north of Mansehra killing thousands of people a civilian government ruled Pakistan. Fairly generous donations, in cash and kind, were given by friendly countries, and the rulers of the day had promised to turn Bisham into Paris of the East.
That money was spent but Bisham did not become a European metropolis.
The National Assembly was in session all these days and weeks not because it wanted a thorough discussion on the earthquake and its aftermath.
The house had met just to complete its constitution-mandated 130-day compulsory functioning. About a week into its 28th session the quake struck, presenting the House a respectable rationale to keep meeting, otherwise it virtually had no business to transact.
The House would meet three days a week, every meeting on average lasting not more than two-and-a-half-hour, but the members were paid full for good seven days. So much for the pain they feel for this poor country.
And as for the debate on the disaster, of course there was rampant criticism of the army, as if it would have acted differently if General Pervez Musharraf were not at the helms. Had Nawaz Sharif or Benazir Bhutto been in power on October 8 when the quake hit Pakistan would they have deployed the forces differently?
What other options would have been available to them in addition to employing the armed forces? One could say that instead of army generals the political leaders would have appointed civilians as heads of relief and rehabilitation outfits. Hamid Nasir Chattha would have been a better choice to head one of these bodies, a member said.
Throughout the three-week debate on the earthquake Hamid Nasir Chattha, who enjoys the rare distinction of heading the Kashmir Committee, was conspicuous by his stoic silence. He did not utter a word all these days. May be, he is full of ideas about earthquakes and their aftermath and how to face them, but he was silent. So were Farooq Leghari, Zafarullah Khan Jamali and other bigwigs of the assembly. No great speech was made either, as their insight was only media-deep.
That insipid debate serving the backdrop Shaukat Aziz's address was refreshing in that he lent a clear perspective to the entire saga. He spoke with confidence, at no point giving the impression of being an outsider in the post-quake relief and rehabilitation operation.
Pity that Pakistan peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) boycotted his speech, although if the party had a grouse it should have been against Speaker Amir Hussain who did not let some opposition members speak.
Shaukat said earthquake completely paralysed the local administrations necessitating a request by the government to the military high command to mobilise and 3,000 troops were immediately dispatched to the affected areas. The same day the cabinet met and appeal was launched for international help. British rescue team was here the same evening.
Others started coming from the next day. Response to appeal for donations is tremendous: About Rs 5 billion have been contributed to the President's Relief Fund and external donors have pledged $2 billion. It was bigger than the last December's tsunami, therefore, the relief and rehabilitation operation would be a "marathon, not a 100 meter dash".
There is nothing to worry, even about the Nato presence because no one can overwhelm Pakistan. We know how to defend ourselves. As for the Nato personnel they are looking after our injured and building our roads, the prime minister said. He invited the opposition for sorting out if it has any reservations about the relief and rehabilitation operation.