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 Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said before his arrival in Kabul on Saturday that Washington wanted to see Pakistan go after al-Zawahiri, who is thought to be in the north-western tribal areas.
The military said in a statement, "We expect the US intelligence establishment to share available information and actionable intelligence regarding al-Zawahari."
The statement further said 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 are already being hunted.
Meanwhile, Panetta, a former CIA chief, who replaced Robert Gates as defence chief on July 1, also pushed Pakistan to "do more" to help in the fight against al Qaeda, amid dismal relations between the US and Pakistan, its uneasy ally in the war on terror.
He said that since the May 2 night raid by US forces in Pakistan that claimed killing Osama bin Laden, 10-20 key al Qaeda targets had been identified between Pakistan , Yemen , Somalia and North Africa. He said that al-Zawahiri was one of those "we would like to see the Pakistanis target".
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