Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has rebuffed proposals, by top US intelligence officials, to gain more access for American troops in restive tribal areas which have become a haven for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, a media report has said.
"The top two American intelligence officials traveled secretly to Pakistan early this month to press President Pervez Musharraf to allow the Central Intelligence Agency greater latitude to operate in the tribal territories where al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups are all active," the New York Times said, quoting several unnamed officials.
"Musharraf rebuffed proposals to expand any American combat presence in Pakistan, either through unilateral covert CIA missions or by joint operations with Pakistani security forces," the NYT said.
The report said the crucial meeting involved Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, CIA director General Michael V Hayden, new army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj, the chief of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence.
"The purpose of the mission," a senior official said, "was to convince Musharraf that time is ticking away," and that the increased attacks on Pakistan would ultimately undermine his effort to stay in office, it reported.
Musharraf is conducting a delicate balancing act in dealing with the American requests for more access to Pakistani territory for security operations. He is fully aware of the backlash from his domestic opponents if American forces are found operating in Pakistan.
Soon after the January 9 meetings, Musharraf told media that any unilateral action by the American security forces in Pakistan "would be regarded as an invasion,"
"If they come without our permission, that's against the sovereignty of Pakistan," Musharraf said.
During his recent Davos trip, President Musharraf questioned the very idea that American troops could be effective in the restive tribal areas of Pakistan.
The New York Times said that Pakistan and the US are now discussing a series of other joint efforts, including increasing the number and scope of missions by armed Predator surveillance aircraft over the tribal areas, and identifying ways through which the US can pass on information about people suspected of being militants, to Pakistani security forces.
Top political leaders and officials in the US have complained that Islamabad was not pushing the war on terror with the necessary seriousness. Several US presidential candidates have hinted they would support unilateral action in the area.
"There has been an increasing sense of urgency at the highest levels in the US government that al-Qaeda and the Taliban are intensifying efforts to destabilise the Pakistani government," the NYT said.
The region bordering Afghanistan has emerged as a frontline in the war on terror after Musharraf allied Pakistan with the US following the September 11 attacks.
The US has sanctioned billions of dollars to Pakistan to help its security forces fight the militants in the restive region.
