Date:11/10/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/10/11/stories/2005101113780100.htm

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Pakistan death toll may exceed 30,000

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Islamabad ready to accept relief supplies from India but not for joint relief and rescue operations

ISLAMABAD: Even as it became clear that the death toll in Saturday's earthquake in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) could be well over 30,000, Islamabad on Monday said it would receive relief goods from India.

However, it maintained that there was no "possibility" of joint relief and rescue operations with India on the plea that the Line of Control (LoC) was not inhabited.

Hours after Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran announced in New Delhi that a planeload of relief materials would be ready to leave for Pakistan, the new Foreign Office spokesperson, Ms. Tasneem Aslam, told The Hindu here: ``Yes. We have indicated our requirements to New Delhi and relief materials would begin coming from there from tomorrow onwards. However, I am not sure about the mode of transport.''

It appears India offered to lend the services of a few helicopters as well as experts to help in the rescue of stranded people but Pakistan did not accept the suggestion.

Earlier, Ms. Aslam told a news conference that Islamabad had offered assistance to New Delhi to help the victims on the other side of the LoC.

On the possibility of a coordinated approach by the two countries, she said the Pakistan Army was operating in villages and towns in PoK, including in far-flung areas but not along the LoC. Asked whether security concerns were involved in relief operations in PoK, Ms. Aslam said: "I don't know. Maybe, the Indian media has reported about security concerns."

She said: "We remain willing to help Indians if we are needed for any kind of assistance, like the Indians offered us."

The counter offer by Pakistan to India has surprised diplomatic observers here considering the magnitude of its problem.

UNICEF projections

On the basis of field reports and projections, the United Nations Children's Fund has estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 people died in Pakistan and PoK. Children accounted for 50 per cent of the population in the affected areas in northern Pakistan and PoK.

The UNICEF projections were corroborated by the grisly footage telecast on local channels. On Monday, television crews reached Muzaffarabad and shot images of flattened structures and terrified residents in the PoK capital.The only consolation was that authorities were successful in reopening roads to this city of 2.5 lakh people and other big towns. United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations reported that trucks carrying relief supplies began arriving in the region.

The United Jehadi Council, a conglomerate of militant groups engaged in operations in Jammu and Kashmir, announced suspension of its activities. Its chairman and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin chief was quoted as directing the cadres from Muzaffarabad to engage in rescue and relief efforts.