The strategy announcement follows growing Western concern over Taliban advances in Pakistan, which Washington has put at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda, and holds potential implications for the war in Afghanistan.

"These border areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan are the breeding ground, the crucible of terrorism," Brown told a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul.

"A chain of terror links these areas to the streets of many of the capital cities of the world," Brown added.

"Our approach to (Afghanistan and Pakistan) is different but must be complementary. Our strategy for dealing with this breeding ground of terrorism will mean more security on the streets of Britain."

In Islamabad, Brown brushed aside angry questions over the recent arrest of 11 Pakistani men in Britain, in what he called a "major terrorist plot", although all of them were later released without charge.

Downing Street denied he was snubbed over the affair by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, with whom he was originally expected to hold a news conference after arriving from visiting British troops in Afghanistan.

He instead held a press conference with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, during which Brown said Britain and Pakistan faced a "shared and urgent threat" from terror.

"This terrorist threat that exists cannot be ignored," he said, stressing that both countries must work together.

Brown said last year that 75 percent of extremist plots which Britain faces have links to Pakistan.

Gilani said his country had a "strong commitment to eliminate terrorism".

"We are determined to combat the elements who are trying to undermine the stability of Pakistan," he added.

In Islamabad, Brown also met opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, the most popular Pakistani politician recently courted by the West.

Brown's new strategy will be unveiled in a statement to parliament in London Wednesday, a month after US President Barack Obama unveiled a sweeping new approach to defeat Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and reverse the Afghan war.

Commanders believe a major source of the threat in Afghanistan comes from Pakistan, where Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters are hunkered down in tribal areas and where the northwest Malakand district has been put under sharia law.

Pakistan's military said Monday its troops killed 20 militants in a major new ground and air offensive in the northwest where a shaky peace deal was thrown into doubt when the Taliban suspended talks.

Brown said Britain would redirect more of its aid to Pakistan and to the nuclear-armed country's border regions.

He said education and health were major challenges and also announced a 10-million-pound (15-million-dollar) counter-terrorism package.

Britain has allocated 665 million pounds for Pakistan between 2009 and 2013.

In Kabul, Karzai told the news conference with Brown that he would run for re-election in a landmark August vote, delayed from April over security fears.

Britain and other NATO countries have pledged 5,000 extra troops for Afghanistan's second ever presidential election on August 20. The United States is rolling out an extra 21,000 troops.

There are 70,000 NATO and US-led troops already fighting an increasingly deadly insurgency waged by the Taliban, who were ousted by the US-led invasion shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Britain is the second-biggest contributor of foreign troops to Afghanistan after the United States, deploying around 8,300 as part of a NATO-led force based mostly in the south, the heartland of the insurgency.

Brown visited British troops at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, and the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, where he received a military briefing. He also attended talks with top local officials.

Britain was pledging around 15 million pounds (22 million dollars) to help with Afghan voter registration, part of a 2009-2013 development budget of 510 million pounds, said an official travelling with Brown.

A total of 152 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in October 2001.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News