LAHORE    -   The South Asian chapter of UN-KAKHTAH DRR Repository was named after the late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, during a condolence reference, held here. The reference was organised by the Pakistan Japan Intellect Forum (PJIF) here at a local hotel on Sunday. A spokesperson for PJIF told APP on Sunday that the announcement was made by Prof Dr Aurangzeb Hafi, principal investigator (P.I.) and chief research methodologist at the Asia-Oceania Post-Doctoral Academia (AOPDA), while addressing the reference.

The UN [United Nations] KAKHTAH multiversity and DRR [Disaster Risk Reduction] repositories got their title-ovations through first letters of names of two institutional entities and two individuals including Kofi Annan, Helen Keller Intl., Tzu-chi Intl., and Aurangzeb Hafi. These institutions and individuals brought forth some real difference during the hardest test of human solidarity, the aftermath of Asian Tsunami of 2004, through their meritorious renderings.

The spokesperson said Shinzo Abe was the longest-serving prime minister of Japan: holding the office from 2006 to 2007 and then from 2012 to 2020. His political ideology was grounded in conservatism and nationalism, which earned him both friends and foes. He was assassinated by a homemade firearm while addressing a political rally on July 8. The shocking incident was the first of its kind in Japan since the end of World War-I (WW-I).

PJIF Director Chaudhry Homayoun Akhtar Chattha hosted the condolence reference here, under the patronage of Nadeem Alam, honorary consul general of Japan in Balochistan.

Polymath arch-researcher Professor Hafi argued that on such occasions of sadness, “we must not suffice on expressing grief alone; rather, we should learn and strive to proceed along the lofty roadmaps, laid down by such incidents.” He announced naming the SAARC chapter of UN-KAKHTAH DRR Repository after the late prime minister Shinzo Abe. The repository is intended to serve as the SAARC region’s institutional hub for catering the ISDR [International Strategy for Disaster Reduction] needs and DRR [Disaster Risk Reduction] research works up to the post-doctoral level.

The reference organising body included Iqbal Burma, president PJIF, Ms Sitara, vice president PJIF, and certain NGOs associated with Japan. The meeting was attended by people from business, education and various other sectors.

Iqbal Burma, founder and president of PJIF, read a message of condolence on behalf of the Forum, wishing that peace and harmony prevail despite such unsettling events. Others who spoke were: Ms Sitara, Amir Sheikh, Shahid Malik. Attendees included members of Pak Japan Business Forum (PJBF), Umair, the president of Bonsai Society.