ISLAMABAD, July 3 (Reuters) - Britain is to double assistance to Pakistan to 480 million pounds ($955 million) by 2011, making it the second biggest recipient of British aid, with greater emphasis on the militancy-plagued border with Afghanistan. The aid increase was announced by British Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander during a meeting with Pakistan's Finance Minister Syed Naveed Qamar in Islamabad, Qamar's ministry said in a statement. "UK assistance will continue to focus on health ... and on good governance and earthquake affected areas' reconstruction," the ministry said, referring to reconstruction of a northern region devastated by an earthquake in October 2005. "There will now be an additional emphasis on assistance to the border areas as well as on education, with more than 250 million pounds being made available to bring 5 million children into school," the ministry said. Taliban militants battling British and other foreign troops in Afghanistan have sanctuaries in lawless regions along the Pakistani border, where militants also plot violence in Western countries. Alexander said Britain, the former colonial power, had for many years been committed to helping Pakistan fight poverty and aimed to continue to help ensure people had access to better healthcare, schools and job opportunities, the ministry said. Britain would also provide 50 million pounds to Pakistan's State Bank to open financial services to poor people, it said. (Reporting by Kamran Haider; Editing by Robert Birsel) (One British pound = US$1.99 and 138.2 Pakistani rupees)
Supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party rally with party flags and banners in Peshawar on July 2, 2008. Several dozen party supporters were calling for the end of operations in ...
