The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has warned that stepping up the international military presence in southern Afghanistan could result in the further destabilisation of Pakistan.

The Admiral believes that President Barack Obama's planned surge in Afghanistan from 49,000 to 68,000 US troops could lead to an influx of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in northwest Pakistan. He says it is vital that the international force in Afghanistan recognises that the militants will try to regroup in Pakistan.

The United Nations is calling on the international community to contribute hundreds of millions of euros in the short term to aid refugees in Pakistan. Almost two million people have fled the Swat Valley and the surrounding area, where the Pakistani army is engaged in an offensive against the Taliban.