Leading aid agencies have continued to deliver essential aid to refugees in the deepening humanitarian crisis following the earthquake in Pakistan. All efforts are being given to build up tented villages before the potentially devastating Himalayan winter sets in.

|PIC1|In the region of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir the local government has made an open invitation to Christian organisations so that help can be brought in to the area which has been in the past completely closed off, report Open Doors.

One local Christian leader of an underground church in the well-known region for Christian persecutions said, “This is an important moment in the history of Kashmir. For years, Muslim extremists have said that Christians are evil and only want to convert others by force. If we can show the humanitarian, unconditional love of Christ in the wake of this disaster, we will shatter this caricature."

“And we pray that greater religious freedom may be given as the government sees how much we love these people and wish to help them rebuild their communities.”

According to Open Doors it is estimated that most refugees from the mountains have buried between 10 to 15 members of their extended families before commencing the long hike down the mountains to find food and shelter.

The devastation caused by the earthquake has been immense, with reports of up to 80,000 already being confirmed dead as well as just as many maimed or injured, yet the international response has been criticised by many as being too slow.

|QUOTE||Four weeks after the tragedy, about 500,000 people have still received no aid at all as international assistance falls far short of what is needed. It is feared that nearly 1.5 million people do not have adequate shelter to survive the harsh winter, report Open Doors.

Tim Costello, the Chief Executive of World Vision Australia commented to Christian Today, “I feel that a lot of what is happening has come about due to donor fatigue, and it is certainly true that the international response has not been able to reach the same amount of giving as we saw with the Asia tsunami.

“Yet the people in Pakistan are as desperate as people anywhere else in the world, and the levels of trauma are terrible."

|TOP|Costello continued by telling Christian Today that, “However, we as Christians are called to go on serving, and World Vision is dedicated to doing all it can to provide relief and aid to those desperate and devastated by the Pakistan earthquake.”

Various aid agencies are continually warning the international community that a ‘second wave of deaths’ are about to fall upon the regions – with disease, hunger and below-freezing weather all set to see further disaster in Pakistan.

In urgent response, the Salvation Army emergency services team in Pakistan has made a further distribution of tents in the Balakot region. Two hundred tents were given out, along with warm clothes, food, as well as books and stationary for children, all in an attempt to allow people to capture back the slightest normality of their past lives.

One hundred tents were given out in the lower part of Balakot City, in conjunction with the Pakistan military, reports the Salvation Army International Headquarters correspondent Katie Baddams.|AD|

Open Doors, however, has been emphasising the situation for local Christians in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. The organisation says, “The state has been run by extremists since the 1970s when missionaries from other parts of Pakistan were kicked out. It is impossible for a Christian to buy property or build a church in this region. In recent years, some believers have been martyred by Muslim extremists. One Christian was wrapped tightly in a blanket with a Bible across his chest and shot.”

However, extremists are not having things just their own way but Open Doors reveal that one Pakistani Christian who has just returned from the region stated, "Anyone who comes with aid is welcomed as a hero, no matter what religion they are from. And the more Christians who come with food, blankets and medicine, the more we strengthen the forces of moderation in the land, and maybe in the long term, show that Christians can be a wonderful force for good here.”

One leading Pakistani Christian told Open Doors, “In the wake of this terrible tragedy, a door has been opened to show the love of Christ to the Kashmiris who are normally isolated behind mountain walls and walls of extremism.

“Please give us the resources to show the love of Christ in this formerly closed region of the world, and to strengthen the church that remains there.”