Britain's Tony Blair arrived in Pakistan yesterday for talks with Pervez Musharraf on how to beat a resurgent Taliban, pool counter-terrorist intelligence and quell militancy in Pakistan's religious schools.

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 Islamic 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 revitalised Taliban, who are benefitting from sanctuaries in Pakistan.

A British government source told Reuters 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 Taliban - not just because they are killing British soldiers and local Afghans, but because that kind of extremist capacity is dangerous for Pakistan too."

Blair's visit to Pakistan follows a warning from the head of Britain's domestic spy agency that Muslim militants are plotting at least 30 major attacks in Britain.

One senior Foreign Office official said there was evidence Al-Qaeda was seeking the know-how to use a nuclear device.

British government sources say they are concerned about the flow of people and ideas between Britain and Pakistan, where some madrasas, or religious schools, double as terrorist training camps.