ISLAMABAD, 19 November 2006 — British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived here yesterday for talks with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on how to beat a resurgent Taleban, pool counter-terrorist intelligence and quell growing militancy in Pakistan’s madrasas.

Blair arrived at the Chaklala Airbase where he was received by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khusro Bakhtiar.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said, “This will be the third round of bilateral summit consultations as agreed in the ‘Partnership for Peace and Prosperity’ during Musharraf’s last visit to Britain in December 2004. Blair will also meet Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Blair’s spokesman said Britain and Pakistan would set up a joint working group between their interior ministries to promote closer links between their intelligence services.

Britain will also double its development aid, spending more on education in Pakistan’s moderate Muslim schools to counter extremism, he said.

The British prime minister’s visit comes as about 5,000 British troops are in Afghanistan, part of a 31,000-strong NATO-led force battling a revitalized Taleban, who are benefiting from sanctuaries in Pakistan.

A British government source said on Friday: “We want to move forward with Musharraf and the Pakistan government on Afghanistan, to convey the message about the need to get a grip on the Taleban -- not just because they are killing British soldiers and local Afghans, but because that kind of extremist capacity is dangerous for Pakistan too.”

British government sources say they are concerned about the flow of people and ideas between Britain and Pakistan.

“President Musharraf talks about ‘enlightened moderation’, we are supporting (that policy),” Blair’s spokesman said.

Britain will donate £480 million over the next three years to Pakistan, partly to support the development of “moderate Muslim education” to counter radicalization, the spokesman said.

It will also provide technical help and training in areas like forensic investigation and tracking terrorist financing.

“We are satisfied that we are getting the level of cooperation that we need. Of course, we have to keep developing that relationship,” Blair’s spokesman said.

- With input from agencies