Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Tuesday the United States was sending $110 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Pakistan, part of the administration’s new strategy for countering the appeal of Taliban militants in the nuclear-armed US ally.

Clinton detailed the aid package at the White House, saying the money is flowing to ease the plight of about 2 million Pakistanis who have fled fighting in the country’s Swat Valley and are living in squalid tent cities.

The White House said Prime Minister Gillani had appointed Brigadier General Nadeem Ahmad to lead the Pakistani relief effort. He was highly praised for his work in the relief effort after the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.

Pakistan’s army is engaged in major combat in Swat, in response to attempts by armed Islamic militants to solidify their hold on the region.

Pakistan reluctantly undertook the offensive under pressure from the United States after Taliban fighters had taken positions within 60 miles of the capital, Islamabad. The military says more than 1,000 insurgents have so far been killed in the fighting.

President Barack Obama has spoken of the need to improve the lives of people in both Pakistan and Afghanistan as part of the administration’s new plan for linking the US fight against the resurgent Taliban in the two countries.

The Taliban has provided sanctuary to Osama bin Laden and his top al-Qaeda leadership along the lawless and mountainous border shared by Afghanistan and Pakistan.