Pakistan remembers quake dead

Pakistan paid homage on Sunday to some 73,300 people killed last year in a 7.6- magnitude earthquake that destroyed much of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and parts of the North West Frontier Province.

Meanwhile, thousands of survivors faced prospects of another severe winter due to delays in the reconstruction process.

Sirens wailed at 8:52 am (0922 IST), the exact time when the temblor struck, to begin a minute's silence throughout the country.

President Pervez Musharraf laid a wreath near a ruined university in the PoK capital of Muzaffarabad and led a memorial ceremony held amid tight security in the wake of a couple of security scares triggered by a blast near his residence and recovery of rockets near his office.

Musharraf vowed to rebuild devastated areas on modern lines and announced housing and agricultural loans write-off for affected people.

"We have a comprehensive plan to rebuild the ravaged areas better than ever before," he told some 1000 quake survivors in Muzaffarabad, defending the handling of the relief and reconstruction efforts.

The government had come under severe criticism from the public and the media as thousands of affected people faced the prospects of going through a second harsh winter due to delay in disbursement of reconstruction assistance.

Angry survivors held a protest on Saturday in Islamabad expressing fears that up to half of the 3.5 million left homeless will have to spend this winter in makeshift homes.

According to the United Nations, 33,000 quake survivors still live in tent camps in Pakistan. Aid group Oxfam had put the number at 1.8 million, but Musharraf had rejected it.

Virtually acknowledging that corruption had occured, Musharraf said he had ordered authorities to probe the complaints of corruption by quake reconstruction officials.

The quake, considered the worst in Pakistan's history, killed 73,338 people including 35,000 children and injured 1.28 lakh others.

Government estimates say it destroyed six lakh houses, 6300 schools, 796 health facilities, damaged 6440 km of roads and 50 to 70 percent water supply facilities.

At the Muzaffarabad ceremony, Musharraf described Kashmir as the 'lifeline' and promised that the development of Pakistan and PoK would go together.

He said the government was also making efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue. "I praise your courage and resilience. We will always be with you," he said, and thanked the international community and all the countries which helped Pakistan.

He said work was progressing well to rebuild 600,000 homes, 8,000 schools and 350 hospitals destroyed by the quake.

Musharraf later opened a newly-built girls school in Chakothi village, situated near the Line of Control. In Mansehara, part of the NWFP bordering Wazrisitan where Pakistan recently struck a deal with local tribesmen, Musharraf appealed to people to reject extremism and terrorism and support government's efforts to restore peace.

He said people should have to stop militant groups like al-Qaeda and support government's efforts to contain terrorism.

In Islamabad meanwhile, survivors held a vigil to remember people who died in the quake that had hit Margalla Towers, a 10-storey apartment block.