The United States is seeking to expand the areas inside Pakistan where Central Intelligence Agency drones can operate, The Washington Post reported late on Friday. Citing unnamed US and Pakistani officials, the newspaper said US officials were eyeing areas surrounding Quetta, where the Taliban leadership is believed to be hiding.
But the request also seeks to expand the boundaries for drone strikes in the tribal areas, the report said. On Friday a US drone attack destroyed a vehicle in North Waziristan, killing at least three suspected militants, security officials said. But The Post said Pakistan has rejected the request. Instead, the country has agreed to more modest measures, including an expanded CIA presence in Quetta. "You expect us to open the skies for anything that you can fly," the paper quotes a high-ranking Pakistani intelligence official as saying. "In which country can you do that?"