Washington: With Pakistan turning the heat on suspected al Qaeda operatives in its Northwestern frontier region, United States is mulling over supplying more helicopters to Islamabad.

"With respect to Pakistan, we are working on the helicopter issue. They need more helicopter capacity in that part of the tribal areas," Secretary of State Colin Powell told a Senate panel yesterday (Mar 25, 2004).

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary, Powell said the US had already supplied to Pakistan night-vision goggles to fight al Qaeda operatives along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

"This night vision goggles, it is done," Powell told Senator Ernest Hollings, a member of the subcommittee.

Powell told the committee that Pakistani military forces had engaged al Qaida fighters in its border areas and apprehended more than 500 terrorists in the operation.

Pakistan had on Sunday (Mar 21, 2004) admitted that its forces were getting technical help from the US Army.

"We do have US Cobra helicopters but they are piloted by the Pakistanis and not by the Americans," Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said denying any US involvement in the anti-al Qaida operations.