'There is no relief'

2005-10-10 19:26

Bagh - More than two days after a devastating earthquake flattened a swathe of northern Pakistan, angry survivors on Monday raged at the authorities for not bringing food and help.

"We are not mourning our dead today, we are mourning our ties with the government," magistrate Raja Mohammad Irshad said in Pakistani Kashmir's remote town of Bagh, which suffered serious damage.

"We are asking whether they think we are human beings, or animals, or non-living things," he said.

"We have asked the authorities in Islamabad to send (the police) force with food trucks to prevent any rioting or violence by the survivors."

The huge international rescue effort that has swept into Pakistan has been severely hampered by treacherous mountain terrain and huge quake-triggered landslides that have wiped out most roads, though some reopened on Monday.

Bodies buried under piles of debris

Especially in devastated Pakistani Kashmir, most relief teams have to be ferried in by helicopter but Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf has spoken of a lack of heavy transport choppers and appealed to the international community for help.

In Bagh, bulldozers belonging to local firms were seen working at several places removing boulders that had blocked traffic but there was no sign of promised aid.

Bodies were buried under piles of debris where houses once stood, while residents said more than 160 girls and boys were trapped in a collapsed school.

"General Musharraf is making fools of us. There is no relief, no rescue teams, nothing," said another official.

In devastated Balakot, 75km away, there was also bitterness.

"We survived the earthquake but now we realise we will die of hunger and cold," said Mohammad Zaheer, a survivor in the shattered northwestern town.

Zaheer complained the collapse of one building in the capital Islamabad, where more than 20 were killed and dozens trapped, had attracted a visit from Musharraf.

People sleeping in the open

"We don't want helicopters to hover around. All we want is blankets and water," said Amjad Anwar, an elderly resident.

In affected areas people have been sleeping in the open, either because their homes have been flattened or because they are scared of aftershocks.

The government and Pakistan's military, which is playing a major role in rescue operations, say they're doing all they can to help.

French and Spanish teams were due to set up field hospitals in quake-hit towns and teams from many were also involved in the aid effort.

- SAPA