The United Nations has appealed to the international community for $543 million in emergency relief for people displaced by the fighting. On Friday, Martin Mogwanja, acting U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Pakistan, said the exodus of Pakistanis "is extraordinary in terms of size and speed, and has caused incredible suffering. We are calling for generous support from the international community."
The United States this week pledged $110 million in emergency aid. At a donors conference Thursday in Islamabad, officials announced a total of $224 million in international pledges.
Pakistan's humanitarian crisis could deepen if its government expands the military offensive into North and South Waziristan, regions on the western border with Afghanistan that are major strongholds for the Taliban. Remarks by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to a British newspaper about a possible expansion of the offensive into Waziristan sparked some people in the tribal areas to flee.
This week, local officials began setting up two camps outside South Waziristan in anticipation of a new wave of displaced people.
In Peshawar, police and medical teams responding to the car bombing at the cinema Friday scrambled to rush the wounded to hospitals.
The blast, powered by what city Police Chief Safwat Ghayur said was about 140 pounds of explosives, tore into storefronts and damaged several cars. The cinema was packed with moviegoers, but most of the dead and injured were passersby.
Militants have targeted movie theaters in the region in the past, charging that the cinemas violate the tenets of Islam.
Pakistan's Dawn News television channel reported that some theaters in the area have recently received threats from the Taliban, and that a few theater owners have shut down.
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alex.rodriguez@latimes.com
Ali is a special correspondent.
