British Prime Minister Tony Blair is set to arrive in Islamabad for talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf that is likely to focus on the deteriorating security situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Blair is also expected to meet Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz as well as a group of Muslim leaders, the foreign ministry said on Saturday.
A prime concern of Britain remains the situation in Afghanistan and stability along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, from where remnants of the ousted Taliban militia have been launching frequent attacks against the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan in recent months.
Blair and Musharraf are expected to discuss closer cooperation to deal with these challenges.
Discussions between the two leaders could also involve new ideas injected by Blair on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as bilateral trade.
A development partnership agreement is expected to be signed during the visit under which Britain would enhance its development assistance to Pakistan from 236 million pounds ($440 million) to 480 million pounds ($900 million) to be disbursed over the next three years. Indo-Asian News Service