Islamabad: The US has offered the
Pakistani military two drone surveillance systems to help
improve its reconnaissance capability, US Under Secretary of
Defence Michele Flournoy said on Friday.
Briefing a group of journalists at the US embassy
after a meeting of the bilateral Defence Consultative Group,
Flournoy said the ScanEagle and Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle
systems had been offered to Pakistan.
Pakistan had made a request for surveillance systems
to reinforce its counter-insurgency efforts.
"We have put the details of both surveillance systems
on the table and now the decision is to be taken by Pakistan,"
she said.
It is now up to the Pakistan Army to decide which
system it needs to beef up intelligence in counter-insurgency
efforts.
"We will deliver whichever system is chosen by
Pakistan," she said.
"With the goal of strengthening US-Pakistan defence
ties, we had a very productive meeting with Defence Secretary
Syed Athar Ali. This relationship is based on mutual respect,
trust and interests," Flournoy said.
The US appreciated the operations conducted by the
Pakistan Army against the militants in Swat, Malakand, South
Waziristan and elsewhere, she said.
"I think they are moving in the right direction," she
added.
Flournoy said she also met army chief Gen Ashfaq
Parvez Kayani to review the progress made in the DCG`s
meeting.
She said she and Kayani had a strategic discussion on
operations against militants on both sides of the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Replying to a question, Flournoy said the meeting did
not discuss the issue of Pakistan conducting a military
operation against the Taliban in North Waziristan Agency.
"We discussed coordinated operations against militants
in the bordering areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan to make
their movement in these areas difficult," she said.
PTI
