Pakistan

Relief supplies have been slow to reach tens of thousands of villagers stranded in the Kashmiri mountains since the devastating earthquake hit Pakistan on October 8. While inaccessible terrain has hindered official aid, well-organised Islamic militant groups have stepped into the administrative vacuum, providing relief and humanitarian assistance in Kashmir. This could not only boost the groups' legitimacy, but lend weight to separatist demands for a state that is independent of both India and Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf has acknowledged the problem, saying that the government needs to improve its assistance. Opening the Kashmir border to India is a welcome

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