Pakistan: U.N. to resume flights to quake-hit Kashmir region

Islamabad_(dpa) _ The United Nations is to resume helicopter flights to the remote quake-hit Kashmir region from Tuesday, days after their suspension on security grounds, a U.N. official Monday said.

"We are going to resume relief efforts through helicopters to Leepa valley and its surrounding areas from Tuesday," U.N. Deputy humanitarian Coordinator Larry Hollingworth told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The U.N. officials had suspended helicopter operations to Leepa and Bana Mula valleys in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Saturday following the storming of their choppers in the two areas by the quake-survivors awaiting relief goods, including food.

However, the U.N. is not resuming flights to Bana Mula and plans to transport relief goods by road to the area from Leepa valley.

"It makes sense if we send relief goods to Bana Mula by road," Hollingworth said, and added the civil and military authorities will investigate the two incidents of helicopters being rushed by quake survivors.

When asked if the U.N. is convinced that the security situation had improved to their satisfaction in Leepa, the official briefly remarked, "I hope it has".

Pakistan's chief military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan had told media on Sunday that the army had asked the U.N. agencies to share their flight plan 24 hours in advance for security clearance.

He added that the army would also deploy troops on the ground in the areas of U.N. operation to ensure "absolute security" to humanitarian flights.

U.N. and Pakistani relief workers are still striving to reach out to survivors, especially those living over 5,000 feet in the Kashmir region.

The U.N. officials fear a fresh wave of deaths in the quake-hit zones due to biting cold and diseases such as pneumonia.

The October 8, 2005 earthquake killed some 75,000 people and displaced 3.5 million others in Kashmir and Northwestern Frontier Province (NWFP) while causing a massive destruction in an area spreading over 28,000 square kilometers. dpa nj jh