(CNN) -- NATO has agreed to send as many as 1,000 military engineers, medics and other troops to help with earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan. The alliance will also increase airlifts of aid to Pakistan from Europe, although NATO's top official said more helicopters are desperately needed to deliver supplies to mountainous areas of Kashmir and northern Pakistan. "Pakistan needs more help and today NATO agreed to do more," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters Friday."It is unprecedented. NATO is not a humanitarian relief organization, but the situation is so serious."His comments came as the death toll in Pakistan from the earthquake that rocked the South Asian subcontinent nearly two weeks ago rose to more than 51,000.The October 8 quake is also blamed injuring up to 67,000 in Pakistan.The latest death toll, released by the country's earthquake relief commission, followed a call by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan for a greater world response to help quake victims in Pakistan.Relief agencies say thousands more in the Himalayas face death from exposure."There are no excuses," Annan said. "If we are to show ourselves worthy of calling ourselves members of humankind, we must rise to this challenge. Our response will be no less than a measure of our humanity."UNICEF said it has yet to reach an estimated 120,000 children in Pakistan's mountainous north, and about 10,000 of those could die of hunger, hypothermia and disease within a few weeks. Annan called on international groups, such as NATO and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, to contribute helicopters, trucks and heavy-lifting equipment. Relief agencies need up to 45,000 more winterized tents, 2 million blankets and sleeping bags, water, sanitation equipment and food supplies, he said. Annan urged governments and relief agencies to send representatives "at the highest level" to a donors conference in Geneva next week.He said that international donors have pledged a little more than 8 percent -- or $37 million -- of the $312 million that relief agencies estimate is needed. (See which agencies accept donations)By contrast, donors responded to the U.N. goal for tsunami relief funds within 10 days of the Indian Ocean region disaster last December, Annan said.Some 3 million in Pakistan remain homeless, and the country now faces "a second wave of massive death," Annan said.Regional authorities in Pakistan, however, cite a much higher death toll -- more than 79,000 -- based on information filtering in from outlying areas and as more bodies are pulled from the rubble of collapsed buildings, The Associated Press reported Thursday. Kashmir border contactsMeanwhile, India has welcomed moves by Pakistan to free up the movement of people across the border that separates the disputed territory of Kashmir following the earthquake.Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf earlier this week urged India to allow the people of divided Kashmir to help each other deal with the disaster, offering free relief movement across the border.In New Delhi, Navtej Sarna of the Ministry of External affairs said the Pakistani's leader's comment was a "welcome step in line with India's policy of increasing people-to-people contact over the Line of Control."Kashmir, in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, has been disputed by Pakistan, India and China since 1947. The Line of Control divides Pakistani-controlled Kashmir from the Indian-controlled area, and the two rivals have fought three wars over the territory since 1947.New Delhi had offered helicopters to assist in relief missions, but turned down a Pakistani suggestion that it send military helicopters without crews, The Associated Press reported. Sarna said India would welcome additional contacts from Pakistan on the practical steps for allowing Kashmiris to move across the line.Still, conflict in Indian Kashmir continues with suspected Islamic militants killing the state's education minister during a raid Tuesday. (Full story)CNN's Becky Anderson, Satinder Bindra, Ram Ramgopal and Syed Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.