Pakistan paused for a moment of silence on Sunday, marking the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake that claimed 80,000 lives one year ago.

Meanwhile, President Pervez Musharraf boasted about the progress of reconstruction efforts thus far, describing it as a major victory for a nation still struggling to recover from the disaster.

More than 100,000 people were injured in the quake and 3.5 million were left homeless in the north, and in Kashmir, the disputed region dividing Pakistan and India.

At 8:52 a.m., exactly one year after the magnitude 7.6 quake struck, sirens wailed and Pakistanis observed one minute of silence in hundreds of ceremonies across the country.

In Muzaffarabad, the busy capital of Pakistani Kashmir and one of the cities worst-hit by the quake, hundreds of people stopped what they were doing and stood in silence during the memorial.

During a memorial service at the Azad Jammu Kashmir University in Muzaffarabad -- which was destroyed in the quake -- Musharraf praised the rescue, relief and reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the quake.

"It is a victory for the government, for the army, for the people, for the non-governmental organizations and for the world that supported it," Musharraf told at least 1,000 people who attended the service.

"It was due to the help and generosity of the whole world and the NGOs that we were able to improve the situation."

Nigel Fisher, president and CEO of UNICEF Canada, agreed great strides have been made, but told CTV Newsnet that years of work still lie ahead before the recovery is complete.

When the quake first occurred, aid workers were primarily concerned that displaced people would die from exposure as winter set in, and that the survivors would be ravaged by disease epidemics due to unsanitary conditions.

Those challenges were largely overcome, and now UNICEF's priorities are to bring clean, reliable water to the 1.5 million Pakistanis who still don't have it, and to rebuild schools and health centres, said Fisher.

Considering the location and terrain, progress to date has been reasonable, but UNICEF is still short of funding and hopes to raise $200 million to complete the task.

"You've got to remember the area that was hit is very isolated, up in the mountains, difficult to reach, and it's also an area of endemic poverty, so it is a challenge," said Fisher.  "I would say the early response and the generosity around the world was huge. It's been a little more difficult as Pakistan and this earthquake has disappeared from the news to raise the funds."

In Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, about 200 people observed a minute of silence at the site of the Margalla Towers, a luxury apartment building that collapsed in the quake, killing 74 people.

Many of the victims' relatives attended the emotional ceremony, embracing, weeping and placing flowers and the site where the building once stood.

"We have gathered here to pay our respects to the departed souls and to renew our commitment to helping those still in need," Jan Vandemoortele, U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan, said at a separate ceremony near the towers.

The quake prompted an intense global response that saw about $6.7 billion US committed by countries around the world to help rebuild the 600,000 homes, 6,500 schools, 800 clinics and hospitals and thousands of kilometres of roads.

But the government estimates about 40,000 displaced people are still living in shacks and tents, and reconstruction has begun on only about one-fifth of the homes that were destroyed.

Musharraf has promised that his government will provide basic facilities to the quake victims and he hopes 80 per cent of the reconstruction will be completed within the next three years. However, aid groups say the reconstruction could take closer to eight years.

With files from The Associated Press