Pakistan's allies promise $224 mln for displaced

By Robert Birsel

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's allies promised $224 million in aid for about 2 million people displaced by fighting against the Taliban after the government warned that the militants could exploit a failure to help.

The military launched an offensive this month in the picturesque Swat Valley and neighbouring districts to stop the spread of a Taliban insurgency that had raised fears for nuclear-armed Pakistan's future.

The United Nations has warned of a long-term humanitarian crisis and called for massive aid for about 1.5 million people displaced by this month's offensive and about 555,000 people forced from their homes by earlier fighting in the northwest.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani told the donors' conference in Islamabad that Pakistan was issuing an urgent call for help from "all those who are committed to fighting terrorism".

Aid for the displaced would help win the battle against the Taliban, he said.

"It would also help in ensuring that the militants don't exploit the vulnerability of the displaced population ... We have to win the hearts and minds of the people," he said.

Minister of State for Finance Hina Rabbani Khar later told reporters donors had promised $224 million, including $110 million the United States promised on Tuesday.

That sum would go towards a flash appeal that the United Nations will launch on Friday in a bid to raise up to $600 million, she said.