Washington: Appreciating Islamabad's anti-terror efforts, United States has ruled out the possibility of "stepping in" to Pakistan's tribal regions to crackdown Taliban and al-Qaeda elements as suggested by US Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad.

"I think that's an eventuality that, fortunately, we don't have to deal with at this point," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters in Washington yesterday (Apr 6, 2004).

Pakistan, in the last several weeks, has been doing concerted and courageous efforts against terrorist elements in the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, he said.

"We've had a good dialogue with Pakistan on the subject of moving against terrorist elements operating on their territory. These actions have involved the loss of considerable Pakistani life," he said.

Secretary of State Colin Powell had appreciated the efforts during his recent visit to the country, he added.

"It's important to note that this is going to be an ongoing effort, that there are deep-rooted and committed terrorists in that part of the world who need to be acted against. Pakistan is doing that. We appreciate that and we'll continue to work with them in any way that we can to help support that effort.

"It's not a question of now or never, it's a question of - we're both in this for the long haul," he said.

The comments came a day after Khalizad reportedly said US will have to "step in" with its troops if Pakistan failed to root out Taliban sanctuaries, which prompted an angry reaction from Islamabad.