By Barbara Plett
BBC News, Islamabad
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International Development Minister Douglas Alexander is in Islamabad to announce that assistance will double to Ј480m ($956m) over the next five years.
The move comes amid British security concerns over growing Islamic militancy in the country.
The increase makes Pakistan the recipient of Britain's second largest aid programme worldwide.
It reflects at least in part London's concern about the influence of Islamic militancy on Britons of Pakistani origin and its impact on British troops fighting over the border in Afghanistan.
New emphasis
The aid will continue to focus on poverty reduction and improving health care.
But for the first time it will be extended to the tribal areas along the border, which serve as a base for militants linked to the Taleban and al-Qaeda.
There is also a new emphasis on education, apparently to try and counter the influence of extremist versions of Islam taught in some Islamic schools, or madrassas.
There are no details about how the money will be used in the tribal belt.
Any British development programme there would be expected to face difficulties.
The tribal structures traditionally used to administer aid to the area have been weakened and discredited by the rise of the Islamist militants.
And the region is insecure for aid workers, especially those linked to the West.
That is because the tribesmen see Nato and the United States as occupiers of neighbouring Afghanistan.
Such hostility has grown with increased US air strikes on suspected militants in the region.
(BBC)
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