London, Nov.13 (ANI): British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has has ordered the country’s Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth and senior foreign policy adviser Simon McDonald to embark on a round of diplomatic lobbying to try to get agreement from at least 10 different nations to supply the extra forces for the NATO-led offensive against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Brown believes some members of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) are still not making enough of a contribution to the fighting in Afghanistan, and will attempt to persuade allied nations to provide at least 5,000 more troops for the fight against the Taliban, The Telegraph reports. The move is part of a push to spread the burden in Afghanistan, where troops from America and Britain make up the bulk of the international force.

The ISAF is made up of 68,000 personnel from 42 different countries including the US, European countries, Australia and New Zealand. Britain and America are the largest contributing nations, with 9,000 and 32,000 servicemen and women respectively. British diplomatic sources said last night that the extra troops would help “make life easier” for US President Barack Obama to commit more American personnel.

Obama is expected to opt for at least 20,000 extra troops when he finally makes his announcement on November 20. (ANI)