London  - Britain backs Pakistan's "intensified action" against Taliban forces in the border regions with Afghanistan, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said after talks with Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari in London Friday.

"The Prime Minister and the president agreed the need to tackle the underlying causes of extremism," a spokesman said after the talks in Downing Street.

Britain's "highest priority" in Pakistan was to work with the government to tackle the threat of violent extremism in its border areas with Afghanistan.

Brown had also reiterated Britain's aid commitment to Pakistan over the next four years, totalling 665 million pounds (1 billion dollars), of which half would be spent in the border regions.

Application of the aid would require a "comprehensive approach, including better governance, economic development such as a single financing mechanism, and when necessary appropriate military pressure," Brown told Zardari, according to his spokesman.

Britain and the NATO coalition in Afghanistan are looking for greater assistance from Pakistan in securing the border regions between the two countries.

Britain would also provide textbooks for schoolchildren in the border areas and support 300,000 girls from poor families attending secondary school, Brown's spokesman said.

Zardari, who last held talks with Brown in London in May, is on a three-day trip to Britain, accompanied by his daughter Asifa and Pakistan's Interior Minister, Rehman Malik.

"Between our two countries there is a strong bond, both in terms of our people and cooperation between our governments," Brown's spokesman said.  (dpa)