LATE at night, Zainab Sahib often wakes up in the dark, crying for her mother.

Zainab is 6. She was found in the rubble of her mud house after the Kashmir earthquake. Now she is safe in hospital, her left arm amputated, her head covered in bandages.

But she cries in vain. Her parents and siblings all died in the quake.

Zainab is one of scores of children in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) whose families cannot be traced and are presumed dead. These children may have been fortunate to survive, yet still they are in danger: outside the hospital wards are police guards to protect them from kidnap by fake guardians.

“The Government is concerned that these children might fall prey to unscrupulous persons,” an officer said. Child trafficking is a serious threat in the post-disaster chaos.

The Government has banned adoption of children orphaned by the earthquake and promised to ensure their education.

Beyond the confines of the hospital, there is an even greater problem. International relief agencies believe that more than 40 per cent of the casualties were children. The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) says that as many as 120,000 remain untreated in remote areas and fears that up to 10,000 could die of hunger, cold and diseases in the next few weeks. “Children will be the first victims in a second wave of fatalities,” Unicef said.

Two weeks after the quake hit, at least 500,000 of the 3.3 million homeless trapped in their destroyed villages in the mountains of northern Pakistan have yet to receive any help. Nearly 80,000 dead have been counted from the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan to the mountains of Indian- controlled Kashmir.

The most urgent need is for tents that can withstand the freezing temperatures descending across the mountainous regions most badly affected.

The UN has said that there are not enough tents in the world to meet the need and is seeking other forms of shelter that can be built by survivors if materials can be delivered.

But the young victims face an uncertain future. Helen Kirby, of Save the Children, said: “Their whole development has been jeopardised.”

According to one estimate, more than 14,000 schools were destroyed and their pupils buried under them. Ms Kirby said: “They were more vulnerable in school buildings. An entire generation is lost.”

Many survivors have been left physically handicapped and psychologically disturbed. Jehangir Jamil, 10, was badly wounded when his school collapsed and had to have a leg amputated. He has lost both his parents. Billal Quershi, a social worker, said: “He is seriously disturbed and needs help to get back to normal life.”

Ariba, 5, had her legs broken and serious head injuries. Without air or road transport, it took five days to get her to hospital. Because of the delay, gangrene had set in. A hospital spokesman said: “The operating theatres work 24 hours with doctors performing more than a hundred operations a day.” Some minor surgery was performed in the emergency room. “We can hardly cope with this situation,” he said.

President Musharraf has promised that the State will take full responsibility for orphans and provide them with education. But relief workers said they were concerned about the rehabilitation of physically handicapped children.

Relief workers said it was possible to help those children regain normal life. Ms Kirby said: “Many of them are keen to go back to school. They have tremendous resilience. But the main question is whether the Pakistani Government is ready to give them the chance.”

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