Pakistan says quake toll 38,000

The survivors' misery has been compounded by bad weather

Pakistan's government has said it now believes more than 38,000 people were killed by the South Asian earthquake a week ago.

That is an increase of more than 13,000 on its former estimate. At least 1,400 died in Indian-administered Kashmir.

In some of the areas worst affected, heavy rain and strong winds temporarily grounded helicopter flights.

Relief agencies expressed concern about the weather's effects on the homeless - with children especially vulnerable.

Map of earthquake zone

Pakistan military spokesman, Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan, said the death toll had been increased after confirmation of more fatalities in remote valleys and the badly-hit town of Balakot.

President Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday the situation would worsen. "I think it will keep rising when we go into the valleys," he said.

Pakistan has put the number of injured at more than 60,000.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao told the AFP news agency the number of homeless had now risen to around 3.3m.

He said the quake had cost Pakistan $5bn in infrastructure losses.

Exactly one week after the 7.6 magnitude quake struck, 3,000 Muslim worshippers gathered in the country's largest mosque, in Islamabad, for special prayers.

"Oh Allah, give courage to those who survived this disaster to endure this hardship," the cleric read.

Search abandoned

The UN children's' agency, Unicef, said children in affected areas faced a potentially deadly combination of cold, malnutrition and disease.

HOW TO DONATE Unicef www.unicef.org.uk UNHCR www.unicef.org.uk Disasters Emergency Committee (UK) www.dec.org.uk World Food Programme www.wfp.org Kashmir International Relief Fund www.kirf.org Red Cross/ Red Crescent www.icrc.org UN seeks $272m urgent aid

Another organisation, Save the Children, said there were reports of children succumbing to exposure.

UK charity Oxfam said thousands of tents and blankets needed to be moved into remote areas where roads were barely passable at the best of times.

Villagers have been walking to relief camps to beg for tents.

Mohammed Qassim, who lives in Tungli village, five kilometres (three miles) from Balakot in Pakistan, told Associated Press: "We're asking for just one tent. For the sake of God, please give me one tent. Three families can live in it."

President Musharraf rejected criticism of the relief work, saying: "On the whole I think we know what we are doing now and I think it is quite satisfactory."

Rescue workers have now abandoned the search for survivors, although an 18-month girl was found in a remote village in North-West Frontier Province on Friday.

Heavy rains all Saturday morning stopped helicopters flying aid to remote areas, though they have now restarted.

Altuf Musani, World Health Organisation coordinator in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, said: "In these conditions, people will freeze. They will suffer hypothermia.

"There is a small window of less than a week to get to them. Those who are critically injured have very little chance."

UN top relief co-ordinator, Jan Egeland, has said billions of dollars will be needed for the aid effort.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia announced an aid package worth $133m for Pakistan.

The Dalai Lama expressed his sorrow at the earthquake and pledged $23,000 in aid for Pakistan and $12,000 to India.

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