ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – A U.S. intelligence report that al-Qaida is regrouping in northwest Pakistan is unsubstantiated, Pakistan said Wednesday, and it asked Washington to provide it with “actionable intelligence.”

“We would firmly act to eliminate any Al-Qaida hideout on the basis of specific intelligence or information,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“It does not help simply to make assertions about the presence or regeneration of Al-Qaida in bordering areas of Pakistan. What is needed is concrete and actionable information and intelligence sharing,” it said.

In the U.S. report released Tuesday, analysts argued that crumbling state control of Pakistan’s border region allowed al-Qaida an increasingly comfortable hide-out from which to plot attacks, including those aimed at targets on U.S. soil.

A briefing on the National Intelligence Estimate, prepared for President Bush and other top policymakers, said a peace deal in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region lets al-Qaida set up terror training camps, improve international communications and bolster operations.

The Foreign Ministry said Pakistan was “determined not to allow al-Qaida or any other terrorist entity to establish a safe haven on its territory.” It also reiterated that no foreign security forces would be allowed to pursue militants in Pakistan.

“We have deployed troops, established checkposts and done selective fencing. Any further action that needs to be taken against terrorist elements will be taken,” the ministry said.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)