The earthquake has affected an estimated 300,000
people
Officials in Pakistan have made an appeal to
separatist militant groups in the south-western
province affected by the deadly earthquake to halt
attacks.
A spokesman for the Balochistan regional government
said insurgent attacks were hampering rescue and relief
efforts in some districts.
At least 348 people died and hundreds were injured
when a 7.7-magnitude quake hit the region on
Tuesday.
Rescue teams are still trying to reach affected areas.
The government said that official rescue teams have
not been able to reach many affected areas because of
poor road networks, says the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani, in
Quetta.
Officials estimate that about 300,000 people in six
districts have been affected by the earthquake.
Survivors need more provisions like food and water
and there is also a lack of doctors and medical
supplies.
Pakistan's official paramilitary force, the Frontier
Corps, has been leading rescue and relief operations.
It already had thousands of soldiers deployed in the
area because it is fighting a long-running separatist
insurgency by Baloch nationalist rebels.
On Thursday an army helicopter carrying the head of
Pakistan's national disaster agency, Maj Gen Alam
Saeed, escaped a rocket attack, reports say.
Later, members of the Frontier Corps also came under
fire in Awaran, the district worst affected by the quake.
The force stands accused of enforced disappearances
and rights abuses in the impoverished and lawless
province.
Western aid workers and international charity groups
have long been discouraged from working in
Balochistan - Pakistan's largest but least populated
province.
The quake occurred at a depth of 20km (13 miles)
north-east of Awaran, the US Geological Survey said.
Many houses were flattened, forcing thousands of
people to spend nights in the open.
Awaran is considered a hotbed of the separatist
movement and is also the home of a leading separatist
militant, correspondents say.
Tuesday's quake was so powerful it was felt as far away
as India's capital, Delhi, and Dubai.
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