KOLKATA, India: Hundreds of people joined an emotional prayer meeting in eastern India yesterday to mourn the victims of last week's earthquake that killed thousands in Pakistan.

Muslim, Hindu, Christian and Sikh priests read from their holy scriptures, sang hymns and lit joss sticks at a Catholic church in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, in the memory of the people killed by the quake centred in Kashmir.

"Our hearts go out to all of those who lost their lives and our condolences to their families," Idris Ali, president of the All-India Minority Forum said.

"We specially prayed for our bereaved brothers and sisters in Pakistan."

About 300 people attended the prayer meeting, some of whom were visibly distraught and moved to tears when speakers mentioned the plight of the earthquake victims.

Ali said they were collecting donations and relief materials to be sent to the affected regions.

Relations between India and Pakistan have mostly been prickly over the disputed region of Kashmir.

Also yesterday, Pakistani military spokesman said that the death toll in Pakistan's Saturday earthquake has risen to more than 25,000, with some 63, 000 others injured.

Major General Shakaut Sultan was quoted by Geo television as saying that the official death toll is 25,000 plus and the number of injured is more than 63,000.

Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency started airlifting to the Muzaffarabad area of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir to rescue injured earthquake victims, a UNHCR statement said yesterday.

The UN Refugee Agency is planning airlifts with essential relief items such as blankets, plastic sheets, jerry cans, kitchen sets and tents from its stockpiles in Turkey, Jordan, Dubai and Copenhagen.

"The sheer scale of destruction was dumbfounding," said UNHCR Assistant Representative in Pakistan, Indrika Ratwatte.

Ratwatte stressed, "We really need to reach inaccessible areas. And we must ensure a continued commitment to assist people to keep the aid coming in a sustainable way."

67 aftershocks within one day

In another development, at least 67 aftershocks had been recorded in the last 24 hours till yesterday morning, triggering panic among the local residents who are yet to recover.

A powerful aftershock was felt by residents in the capital of Islamabad and other parts of the country, including areas which were devastated by Saturday's earthquake yesterday morning with the magnitude of 4.5 on Richter scale, media reports said.

Earlier, a 5.6-magnitude aftershock was recorded at 01:23 am with its epicentre 135 kilometres north of Islamabad, said Pakistan's seismic and weather authorities.

The fresh shocks jolted the already damaged buildings and forced local residents to rush out of their homes. However, there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Yesterday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said that China is continuing to send relief materials to the earthquake-hit regions in Pakistan.

The third and fourth batch of materials, including the most needed medicines, medical equipment and tents has been shipped to the region.

More is expected in the coming days, he said.

Kong said China's rescue team has, by the afternoon of Wednesday, found three survivors and provided preliminary treatment to more than 200 injured.

Chinese State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan paid a visit to the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing yesterday morning, expressing condolences and deep sympathy to the victims of the earthquake and their families.

(China Daily 10/14/2005 page7)