A coalition of Pakistan's opposition Islamic parties today claimed that the government and army lacked coordination to do relief work in the country's quake-hit areas, where between 35,000 to 40,000 people have been killed.

"This is our request to them: This is not the time to fight with each other," Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the leader of the United Action Forum coalition, said.

Ahmed's remarks came three days after a 7.6-magnitude quake hit Pakistan and its part of Kashmir.

Since then, although civilian and military rescue teams have been doing relief work in the quake-affected areas, Ahmed said the government and the army needed more co- operation and co-ordination.

He also urged the government to withdraw troops from the tribal regions along the Afghan border where they have been deployed since the September 11, 2001 attacks in America to capture remnants of the Taliban and al Qaida.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz quickly rejected Ahmed's demand to withdraw troops from the tribal regions, saying "we have plenty of troops to do relief work."

"There is no need for it," he said in Islamabad.

Aziz also dismissed the impression as baseless that the government and military lacked co-ordination in carrying out relief work.

"Absolutely not ... this is not the case," he said, adding "there is an excellent coordination between the government and the army."

"Our troops have started reaching even far flung areas in northwestern Pakistan and Kashmir to help quake victims," he said.

The United Nations has announced it is launching a flash appeal for £155 million in response to the devastating earthquake that has caused widespread destruction and casualties, especially among children.

The appeal is aimed at lifesaving and early recovery activities for a six-month emergency phase, the Office for the Co- ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

The earthquake has destroyed more than 80% of structures and buildings in parts of northern Pakistan, and strong aftershocks are threatening buildings already damaged by the initial earthquake, OCHA said in a statement.

Many cities and villages in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province - the most affected areas - have been wiped out. More than four million people are affected, including one million who urgently need assistance and two million who are homeless.

Because of strong and frequent aftershocks, survivors are afraid to return to buildings damaged in the earthquake and many are sleeping in the open, OCHA said.

There is an urgent need for tents, with temperatures starting to drop as winter approaches. There is also a critical need for medical care, with most hospitals and health care centres destroyed. Food and clean water are also in short supply.

As relief efforts continued across the quake-hit areas, rescue workers in the Indiancontrolled side of Kashmir found the bodies of 60 road workers in a bus that was buried in a landslide, the Indian army said..

The bodies were cremated on funeral pyres by the highway they were working on.