NATO starts winding down Pakistan quake relief

ISLAMABAD - NATO will begin winding down emergency relief operations in Pakistani Kashmir later this week hopeful that stricken communities in the mountainous region are being supported well enough to survive the Himalayan winter.

"Our intention is to withdraw from Kashmir by February 1, to have all our personnel and equipment out and then to be out of Pakistan by the middle of February," Air Commodore Andrew Walton, the British commander of the 1,000-strong NATO force in Pakistan, told Reuters on Sunday.

The NATO relief mission was given a 90-day mandate and the Pakistan government decided that it would not ask the Western alliance to extend the mission.

Some units would to be brought down from the mountains in the next couple of days. They had been helping to supply food and shelter and keep roads open, Walton said.

Walton said his troops had not encountered any animosity although Islamist opposition leaders had sought to sow distrust about NATO's motives for sending a force to Kashmir, saying it was just there to hunt al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

"What I hope we've left behind is an image of NATO as a force for good, as a capable, professional and trustworthy organization," said Walton, whose command is largely made up of medics and engineers.

The government requested NATO's help soon after the scale of the October 8 earthquake became apparent, and a NATO air bridge to rush aid to Pakistan proved crucial for the relief effort.

More than 73,000 people died in Pakistani Kashmir and North West Frontier Province and about 2.5 million were made homeless, sparking fears the winter would bring a second wave of death.

"We had the first taste of winter last week, blessedly its been about three weeks late coming," Walton said.

Heavy snowfall and icy winds caused many tents to collapse or become waterlogged, but there were few reports of fatalities.

Some 18 people have died from pneumonia in the quake zone over the past six weeks, but the mortality rate has not been above average for the time of year.

The Pakistan earthquake was the first time NATO has mobilised to deal with disaster on such a scale, although the United States government had also requested the alliance's help during the Hurricane Katrina crisis last year.