London  - Britain is to boost the number of troops serving in Afghanistan by around 300 to an overall force of 8,300, Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament Monday.

Brown, who paid a flying visit to Afghanistan, Indian and Pakistan over the weekend, confirmed to parliament that the extra troops would be deployed until August on a "temporary basis."

British troops have suffered increasing losses in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province in recent months, where 132 British soldiers have so far died.

In his statement to parliament in London, Brown was critical of the lack of equal "burden sharing" among the 41 NATO countries involved in Afghanistan.

"The burden is not always shared equally," said Brown, calling on all members of the coalition forces in Afghanistan to "contribute fairly" to the NATO contingent. (dpa)