US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has announced a new aid package for Pakistan - a $110 million in emergency humanitarian aid aimed at easing the plight of about two million Pakistani refugees who have fled the fighting in the country's Swat Valley.

"I am announcing that the people of the United States are responding to a request for assistance from the government of Pakistan with more than 100 million dollars in humanitarian support. Providing this assistance is not only the right thing to do, but we believe it is essential to global security and the security of the United States. And we are prepared to do more, as the situation demands," said Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State.

Coming just weeks after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described Pakistan as a mortal threat to the world and its government as abdicating to the Taliban, Tuesday's announcement of a new aid package reflects the Obama administration's growing confidence in Islamabad's efforts to combat the Taliban and a concern that the Pakistani offensive in the Swat region, urged by Washington, not create a humanitarian crisis that might turn ordinary Pakistanis against the counter-insurgency effort.