Quake victims wait for an uncertain spring

Spring is around the corner for millions of Pakistanis left homeless by last year's giant earthquake, even if it doesn't feel like it as Hafez Gulamullah tramps through knee-deep snow.
When the thaw comes at the end of March in Pitchbala - a tiny hamlet hidden in the valleys of Kohistan, or the land of mountains - the father-of-three and his fellow villagers will finally be able to start rebuilding their homes.
The big question is: what happens next?
The October 8 disaster destroyed the rustic community's already shaky livelihoods and wiped out the roads to the outside world, while this year's harvest will barely allow them to survive.
"We are waiting for the spring to come and then we will rebuild," Gulamullah told AFP in the freezing, snowbound village, which lies 2,060 metres (6,750 feet) above sea level.
"But we will be unable to rebuild, to harvest and look after our families at the same time."
In Pitchbala, villagers say 40 people died and 300 dwellings were destroyed. Those without houses have been living in tents, makeshift shelters or, if they are lucky, their neighbours' damp, smoke-filled wooden compounds.
"Many of us lost our animals, our mills were destroyed and so were the shelters, some of the crop was just lying outside in the rain. There is only one harvest this year because summers are short here," Gulamullah said.
The whole earthquake zone faces similar challenges if it is to reduce its dependence on international relief, said Michael Jones, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) country director for Pakistan, as he visited the village.
"We are going to start moving from the emergency phase to recovery operations in April or May and we have to combine that with re-establishing livelihoods. Otherwise there are going to be problems next year," Jones said.
Last week the WFP said it needed more than 80 million dollars to keep vital helicopters in the air for the rest of the year. It is currently feeding one million Pakistanis, a figure expected to drop to 800,000 by April.
Aid agencies are firstly looking at micro-credit schemes to allow people to replace "seriously depleted" livestock levels and boost the local economy, Jones said.
This in turn is aimed at encouraging tens of thousands of people to leave their tented camps in the valleys in lower levels, where many fled as winter drew in a couple of months after the earthquake.
Material will also be brought to higher elevations to draw people back and seeds and agricultural tools will be distributed along with food aid.
Meanwhile a second tranche of government compensation worth Rs75,000 per family affected by the quake is due by mid-February. The first instalment of Rs25,000 was given in November and the government has pledged a total of Rs175,000 per family.
But Jones said the survivors must be helped to use the cash for rebuilding, not just subsistence. "In the first tranche they used 40 to 60 percent for food and basic needs. That worried us," Jones said.