Pakistani officials say thousands of people may have died in Saturday's powerful
quake that also hit northern India and Afghanistan.
The 7.6-magnitude quake with the epicentre 80km (50 miles) north-east of Islamabad
wiped out several villages.
More than 3,000 people are feared dead in the worst affected North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Kashmir.
In one incident, 400 children were said to have died when two schools collapsed in NWFP's Mansehra district.
Indian officials reported nearly 300 deaths in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has described the quake as a "test
of the nation".
Several countries have offered to send emergency aid.
In a message to Mr Musharraf, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "While parts of India have also suffered from this unexpected natural disaster, we are prepared to extend any assistance with rescue and relief which you may deem appropriate."
Help needed
The earthquake, which hit at 0350G MT, was felt as far away as the Afghan
capital, Kabul, and India's capital, Delhi. Several aftershocks followed.
The head of police in the NWFP told AFP news agency more than 1,700 had died
there alone.
In Pakistani-controlled Kashmir 250 bodies have been recovered of the more
than 2,000 feared dead, an official told the BBC from the provincial capital,
Muzaffarabad.
"All official buildings have collapsed," he said.
Landslides have blocked all access roads to Muzaffarabad, where there is no electricity and telephones.
Chief military spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan warned the death toll could top several thousands in Kashmir alone.
"The loss of life as well as property could be colossal and we need urgent help," he told AFP.
At least 200 Pakistani soldiers were among those killed in the area.
Islamabad collapse
Part of the upmarket Margala Towers residential complex collapsed in Islamabad.
Karam Usmani, a 28-year-old sub-inspector with Islamabad police told the
BBC: "I heard the cries of the people in the debris and with my bare
hands I started to dig and I pulled out one dead body.
"But I managed to rescue another man of 35 and carried him on my shoulders
to the ambulance."
In Indian-administered Kashmir, 15 soldiers were among those killed.
The town of Uri close to the Line of Control that separates divided Kashmir was worst hit, with 104 dead.
The administration is working overtime to restore essential supplies like electricity and water disrupted by the earthquake, says the BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar.
Ben Phillips of Oxfam told the BBC the initial requirement would be for tents, blankets, food aid and medical supplies.
A number of countries have offered help and the United Nations is sending
a team to co-ordinate the relief effort.
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