The US is asking Pakistan for permission to let warplanes fly through its territory if air strikes are ordered against terrorist targets in neighbouring Afghanistan, a senior White House official said.
The senior official said the administration wants Pakistan to close its 1,560 mile border with Afghanistan, presumably to prevent bin Laden's operatives from leaving Afghan territory. The official also said Pakistan will be pressed to stop giving money to terror groups.
In Islamabad, a top Pakistani official said his government has informed the United States that it needs more time to consider the US requests.
Pakistan's intelligence chief, Lieutenant General Mehmood Ahmed, was told that Washington's requests "centre around a possible US strike on Afghanistan and how Pakistan would be expected to cooperate," said the Pakistani official, asking not to be identified.
He said the United States was discussing a comprehensive strike to wipe out a whole network of terror operating from secret bases in Afghanistan.