Children in Pakistan quake zone beg for food

Associated Press Writer= WAM, Pakistan (AP) - Children begged for food from trucks passing through a region of Pakistan hit by a strong earthquake as survivors prepared Thursday for another frigid night camped out in destroyed mountain villages.

As the death toll from Wednesday's earthquake in the southwestern province of Baluchistan rose to 215, soldiers and foreign aid groups distributed blankets, warm clothes and tents and treated the hundreds of injured.

But many among the estimated 15,000 people made homeless in the impoverished region close to Afghanistan complained of receiving little, if any, help.

"The earthquake destroyed our houses, but now the government's slow response is killing us," said Moosa Kaleem, who was sitting with his wife and four children in the town of Ziarat. "We can not spend another night in this chilly weather, especially the kids."

A poorly managed aid effort in Baluchistan could add to anti-government sentiment as the country's new leaders battle soaring violence from Islamist extremists and try to fix mounting economic problems.

The region is home to a long-running separatist movement, but has been largely spared the militant influence and violence seen in other tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.

But among the first to aid quake victims were members of hardline Islamist political parties and groups, including one listed by the United States as a terrorist organization â€" a response likely to win them supporters.

The same outfits helped in the aftermath of a massive quake that killed 80,000 people in Kashmir and northern Pakistan in 2005, an effort that analysts say gave them added legitimacy.

Aid groups said the most urgent needs were emergency shelter materials and warm clothing. Temperatures were close to freezing in the worst-affected areas more than 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) above sea level.

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