The magnitude 7.6 quake, which was followed by strong aftershocks, is feared to have caused thousands of deaths in Pakistan; India; the disputed territory of Kashmir, and Afghanistan. The confirmed death toll stands at 1,337.

The quake hit Saturday at 8:50 a.m. local time (11:50 p.m. ET Friday). The epicenter was about 60 miles north-northeast of Islamabad.

Effects of the quake, the most intense in the region in a century, were felt hundreds of miles away.

Remote towns and major cities, such as Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, India's capital of New Delhi and the Pakistani city of Lahore, and villages and town in eastern Afghanistan were shaken.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz "expressed their profound grief over the tragic loss of life and damage to property as a result of the quake," according to a statement issued by the government.

The death toll in Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir now stands at 1,080, authorities say. That figure includes 520 in North-West Frontier province, 310 in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, and 50 in the Pakistani cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.