Islamabad, March 5 (Reuters): Pakistan plans to increase the the number of police in the capital and boost their salaries to improve security after an upsurge in militant violence, a government official said today.

The government plans to almost double spending on police in the capital, Islamabad, the secretary to the ministry of interior, Tasneem Noorani, said.

It will create a new anti-riot force and increase and retrain police guards for embassies and government offices. “It has been decided to effectively revamp the police force,” he said.

Noorani said the decision was taken by Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali after a spate of violent incidents in Islamabad in recent months, including the killing of a Sunni militant leader and subsequent rioting.

The decision, which will go to parliament for approval, also follows two attempts on the life of President Pervez Musharraf in the adjoining city of Rawalpindi in December.

Only on Tuesday, at least 44 people were killed and 150 were wounded in a gun and grenade attack on minority Shias in the southwestern city of Quetta.

Noorani said Islamabad would spend another 588 million rupees ($10 million) a year in addition to the existing 650 million rupees budget for the police force.