Cheney tours Pakistan quake zone

Cold, cloudy weather and weary survivors of the October 8 quake today greeted US Vice President Dick Cheney on his visit to Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where millions of homeless survivors braced themselves for the harsh winter.

Cheney flew in to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, near the quake’s epicentre, after meeting with President General Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad earlier today.

Musharraf thanked Cheney for “the assistance in the relief operation in the form of helicopters especially, because I don’t think we could have managed the relief operation without your support”.

“The American people wanted to express our sorrow at the tremendous tragedy that you had with the earthquake,” Cheney told Musharraf.

“We’re delighted we’ve been able to be partners in helping address this and one of the things I wanted to do today, obviously, is to have a chance to see some of our people who are involved with those relief efforts.”