Mazari apologises for Awan's 'insensitive' quake remarks.

ISLAMABAD: Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari on Wednesday apologised for "insensitive" and "inappropriate" remarks made by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan regarding the devastating earthquake that jolted parts of the country a day earlier.

"Since government means collective responsibility, I apologise for the shock and hurt felt by the SAPM's insensitive and inappropriate remarks on the earthquake and her jocular tone on an issue of human suffering," Mazari said in a tweet.

Awan, who had been addressing a ceremony in Islamabad yesterday right when the earthquake struck, had made light of the situation after the tremors subsided.

"It's a sign of change that even the earth has shifted. Even [the earth] does not want to accept this change, [which has come] so rapidly," she could be heard saying in a widely shared video.

It later emerged that the powerful, 5.6 magnitude quake had not only caused damage to infrastructure, but had killed at least 23 and injured more than 300, many of whom are in a critical state.

Mazari, in a series of tweets today, apologised for Awan's remarks, saying: "The Information SAPM's remarks on the earthquake were insensitive, absolutely inappropriate and most certainly had nothing to do with government viewpoint. Human...