US dissatisfied with information provided by Pakistan-

Washington, Jan 23 : The US administration has expressed dissatisfaction over the quality of information it is getting from the Pakistan Government about terrorist groups active in volatile tribal areas.

According to The News, Dell Dailey, the State Department's counter-terror chief, said that US will not carry out military strikes on its own inside Pakistan unless President Pervez Musharraf's Government requests direct support.

"There's gaps in intelligence. We don't have enough information about what's going on there. Not on Al-Qaeda, Taliban or on foreign fighters," Dailey, a retired Army Lieutenant General said.

"We have to be careful conducting operations in a sovereign country, particularly one that's a friend of ours and one that has given us a lot of support," Dailey said.

"Folks like the special operations forces are pretty darn good, but the potential to be detected is pretty high," Dailey added. "So unless it's a very, very, very focused effort, it's pretty tough to be immediately effective."

Pakistan's Army Chief, General Ashfaq Kayani has already shown that he is an aggressive commander, and US officials are confident that he will make progress. If Pakistan asks for help, the United States will provide it, Dailey said.

ANI