Lahore, Sep 13: New rules of engagement authorising United States ground attacks inside Pakistan, signed by President George W Bush in July, were not agreed to by Islamabad, American and Pakistani officials have said.

Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani was informed last month by senior US defence officials that if Pakistan failed to stem the flow of Taliban and other terrorist fighters into Afghanistan, the US would adopt a new strategy – one allowing ground strikes on targeted insurgent encampments.

The Washington Post quoted a senior Pakistani official as saying that General Kayani believed the strategy was still under discussion and that Pakistan’s counterinsurgency performance was improving.

Islamabad, Sep 13: Pakistan faces the potential danger of a schism in the army as there is a growing anti-American sentiment largely fuelled by the indiscriminate missile attacks and cross-border incursions.

The Pakistani military’s top brass finished a two-day summit on Friday that was called to consider how to respond to the US incursions in Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan.

Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani issued a strong statement before the meeting, calling the ground assault “reckless.”

London, Sep 13 : Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s party Pakistan Muslim League (N), which is the main opposition party and has a large popular following, could make it hard for Islamabad to maintain its American alliance after a missile from an US drone killed 12 people in Pakistani tribal areas, fuelling angry protests and threats of withdrawal from “War on Terror”.

“We need at this time to make it clear to foreign countries that Pakistan will not tolerate such actions,” said Ahsan Iqbal, spokesman of PML-N.

Nawabshah, Sep 13: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that democracy has been restored completely in Pakistan and Benazir Bhutto’s mission has been completed.

Talking to parliamentarians and officials from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) at the VIP Lounge of the Nawabshah Airport, Zardari said the PPP did not believe in “politics of revenge” and had tried to bring together all political parties in the country.

The president said Nawabshah had been ignored during the last 11 years due to political opposition and pledged a development package for the district.

Islamabad, Sep 13 : Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari after getting elected last week has tried to challenge public opinion by declaring the US-led fight against terror as “Pakistan’s own war,” but does not enjoy the support in the country, where there is growing anti-American sentiment largely fuelled by the indiscriminate American missile attacks and cross-border incursions.

Washington, Sep 13 : The United States is deploying Predator aircraft equipped with sophisticated new surveillance systems to counter terrorism in Pakistan, US military and intelligence officials have said.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the use of specially equipped drones’ come amid a fundamental shift in US strategy in the area - unilateral American military operations - a gambit that could increase pressure on terrorists but risks alienating a country that has been a key counter-terrorism ally.

In an indication of prioritising the Pakistan campaign, US officials said the specially equipped aircraft were being pulled from other theatres to augment aerial patrols above the Tribal Areas.