Pakistan asks US to share al-Zawahiri intelligence

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan asked the United States on Sunday to share "actionable intelligence" about Al-Qaeda's new chief Ayman al-Zawahiri and other high value targets.

The request from the military came after US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said before his arrival in Kabul on Saturday , Washington wanted to see Pakistan go after al-Zawahiri.

"We expect the US intelligence establishment to share available information and actionable intelligence regarding al-Zawahari," the military said in a statement in Islamabad.

It added that sharing information about al-Zawahiri and other high value targets would "enable the Pakistan army to carry out targeted operations".

"The Pakistan army is already carrying out intense operations against Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, who are a threat to security of our country and people," the statement said, adding that terrorist leaders were already being hunted.

Former CIA chief Panetta, who replaced Robert Gates as defence chief on July 1, also pushed Pakistan to do more to help in the fight against Al-Qaeda.

US President Barack Obama has announced that 10,000 US forces will leave Afghanistan this year and another 23,000 by the end of September in 2012, ahead of a full withdrawal of foreign forces in 2014.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011