Camps gone? With AKs, Lashkar lords over relief

By far the most active organization working to help here has been Jamaat ud-Dawa, an offshoot of the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Because of its long connection with the region, the group has been able to step in quickly where the government response has been slow. And though the quake killed many Kashmiri militants, the disaster is giving them help in financing and a chance to raise their standing among the people, something their leaders have been quick to capitalize on.

‘‘This is a great disaster sent from God, and the people are in great trouble,’’ said Hafiz Muhammad Said, the founder of Jamaat ud-Dawa, as he inspected the relief efforts. ‘‘But the good thing is that people from all over Pakistan are giving aid.’’

For the hundreds of villagers straggling in after walking for days over the landslides from the earthquake-stricken Neelam Valley, to the northeast, the Jamaat ud-Dawa camp is the stop. ‘‘Medical and Surgical Camps. Jamaat ud-Dawa,’’ the large banner at the entrance reads in Urdu and English. ‘‘Ambulance, Rescue, Needy Temporary Villages, Burial.’’

Jamaat ud-Dawa volunteers took turns to dig a grave for a 6-year-old boy. ‘‘Only the Mujahideen are helping, from Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat ud-Dawa,’’ said the boy’s father, Altaf Kyani, 35. ‘‘One hour after the quake, they were here. The army only came on the fourth day.’’ ( New York Times)