Pakistan: Nomads without livestock

Thousands of people camped out along the main road from Quetta, capital of the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan, to Sukkur in Sindh Province, are living in primitive conditions, some with no shelter from the scorching sun. Among them are a particularly vulnerable group: nomads who have lost their livestock. One of them is Wali Jamote, 50, who fled his village in Nasirabad District early in August. "I lost everything we had - our tent, the few clothes, shoes and utensils we possess, and worse of all my goats and a camel," Wali told IRIN. He and his family move every few months in search of fresh pasture: "The animals were all we had. They provided us with milk and cheese, and without them my children have gone hungry." He said he had been given "no help at all" by any agency.