ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: Chief Relief Commissioner Maj-Gen Farooq Ahmad Khan has said there is no physical presence of Israel in Pakistan. Addressing a press briefing here on Friday, he said that no medical or engineering teams from Israel were engaged in the quake-stricken areas or the NWFP and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

He said Israel was not among the 70 countries invited to attend the forthcoming International Donors’ Conference to be held in Islamabad.

He said all the quake-hit villages had been accessed, but it could not be said that relief had reached 100 per cent of the population. Some small places having eight to ten houses may have not been accessed but efforts to reach even a small number of people were continuously being stepped up.

He said no relief agency assisting Pakistan in quake-hit areas had so far decided to wind up its operation.

Replying a question, he said US helicopters would remain in Pakistan as long as the country needed them, and no time-frame could be given at the present.

Gen Khan dispelled the impression that US helicopters would permanently stay in the country and said: “We must not politicize everything.”

Asked as to who was bearing the cost of fuel of the helicopters, he said the countries taking part in the relief operation were doing it out of the amount committed by them.

Responding to another question, he said some isolated incidents of kidnapping in calamity-hit areas had been reported. “Criminal people are there in every society,” he remarked.

The general said that some people had also been arrested.

He said the biggest task of the Relief Commission was to be able to provide help to people at the high altitude, before the weather conditions get too harsh.

The chief relief commissioner said the seismic survey by Turkish and Chinese teams would take some time.

He said the Turkish seismic team had conducted survey at some places in the NWFP and would survey some more areas. The Chinese team was deploying its equipment in Muzaffarabad.

He refrained from giving the number of people rendered homeless as a result of earthquake, saying that he did not want to say anything unless it was 100 per cent correct.

He said the death toll stood at 73,318, while 69,392 people were seriously injured. In addition, there were 6,863 people with minor injuries.

Gen Khan said that 456 armymen died and 720 suffered serious injuries in the quake.

He said an amount of $2.469 billion has been pledged internationally, whereas Rs5.767 had pledged locally. Rs5.4 billion had been deposited with banks.

He said 42 tent-villages and 20 tent-schools had been established in the quake-affected areas of the AJK, whereas 29 tent-villages and 9 tent-schools had been set up in the NWFP.