ISLAMABAD, 26 November 2005 — Hollywood star and United Nations’ Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie appealed for more assistance to Pakistan for the rehabilitation of thousands of displaced survivors.

After visiting earthquake-hit areas yesterday, she said, “Pakistan needs more cash and commodity assistance for the rehabilitation of survivors of the quake as winter can cause second wave of deaths.”

Accompanied by actor Brad Pitt, she warned the relief coordinators against the spread of epidemic among orphans.

Jolie said the winter is posing a threat to many lives and “what we need is adequate help and its timely delivery”.

The Hollywood star urged the world to honor its pledges of aid for Pakistani quake victims before winter causes another spell of deaths.

Jolie, who toured the disaster zone with Pitt on Thursday, also warned against allowing children orphaned by the disaster to be adopted too soon. The American actress herself has adopted a son and daughter from abroad.

“There are so many wonderful pledges that could come in in the next few years, but this winter is in the next few weeks and so many people are in danger of possibly freezing to death,” Jolie told reporters.

“There’s not just one disaster that happened, there’s another disaster that could happen very soon.”

Donors last week promised more than $5.8 billion for Pakistan but much is for long-term reconstruction and not immediate aid. The UN says cold, disease and hunger could swell the current death toll of more than 73,000.

“This is not to say there hasn’t been much aid. But the support obviously needs to continue to come and the pledges that were made need to materialize soon,” added Jolie, dressed in a white UNHCR T-shirt.

Oscar-winner Jolie and Pitt handed out food, blankets and plastic sheeting to survivors in the mountains on Thursday, coinciding with a visit by the UN high commissioner for refugees. Pitt was not at the press conference. UN sources said he was maintaining a low profile to keep the focus on Jolie’s charity work.

However Jolie and Pitt together visited President Pervez Musharraf yesterday to pledge the UN’s continued support for Pakistan, state media said.

Musharraf thanked her for her “support and solidarity” and expressed gratitude to the world community, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Asked for her impressions of the devastation caused by the Oct. 8 earthquake, she told the press conference: “It is a huge situation, you fly over these areas.... it is unbelievable.”

The actress said she had been touched “as a woman and as a mother” by talking to a young boy around the same age as her son in the remote northern Alai Valley, which has relied on helicopter airlifts for aid.

“He was so happy because his sister survived the earthquake and they didn’t think she would,” Jolie said. But she said the boy was scared of aftershocks and survivors generally were “still understandably very traumatized.”

“These people have received aid but they are very far out, and they are very concerned about the winter coming,” added Jolie, who is making her third visit to Pakistan.

The “Tomb Raider” star — who took charge of Ethiopian baby Zahara in July and brought Maddox, now four, home from an orphanage in Cambodia in 2002 — also said people should not “jump in” to adopt quake orphans. — Additional input from agencies.