Rawalpindi, Pakistan ? Pakistan’s president appealed Wednesday for more than $5 billion in aid to rebuild the earthquake-ravaged north, but said his country will fend for itself if the world doesn’t deliver.

The appeal came as the United Nations warned again that thousands could die from cold, disease and hunger in the quake zone this winter and announced that Secretary-General Kofi Annan will tour the destruction ahead of a key donors conference Saturday in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said that Pakistan had so far received “negligible” funds from donors, but expressed confidence it could raise the $5.2 billion needed “for relief and reconstruction and sustainable rehabilitation.”

“We hope the international community assists us in this hour of need,” he told reporters in Rawalpindi, near the capital. “We should be able to raise this amount. I have spoken to world leaders, and their responses have been very positive.”

The magnitude-7.6 quake on Oct. 8 destroyed the homes of about 3 million people, leaving hundreds of thousands living in tents while an unknown number have no shelter at all.

Most of the more than 87,000 deaths were in Pakistani territory. About 1,350 died in India’s portion of Kashmir, which is divided between the two countries but claimed in its entirety by both.

Musharraf said that if the funds he sought were not forthcoming, it would affect Pakistan’s development, particularly the social sector.

“We will do it ourselves if the world community does not help us,” he said, but added that the world should assist Pakistan as it did nations hit by last year’s tsunami in Asia, and Hurricane Katrina in the United States.

He said Pakistan would complete its planned distribution of $335 million to quake survivors within 15 days.

The U.N. is stressing the need for more financial support to sustain its emergency relief effort through the winter. It has so far received only $119 million and another $40 million in pledges out of $550 million it has been seeking since last month to finance emergency relief over six months.