The United States may provide Pakistan with a dozen unarmed drone aircraft to help strengthen its fight against the Taliban, US defence officials say.
Defence Secretary Robert Gates told a Pakistani television channel that the plan was being considered.
The use of armed drones by US forces in strikes against militants in Pakistan has led to huge anti-American feeling.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s president said people would be less critical if drones were used by Pakistani troops.
Hundreds of people – many of them militants, but many more civilians – have died in attacks by armed drones in tribal areas of Pakistan where al-Qaeda and Taliban militants are believed to operate.
“There are some tactical UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) that we are considering, yes,” Mr Gates said in an interview with a Pakistani television channel.
“I’m not going to discuss operations but I will say this: these unmanned aerial vehicles have been extremely useful to us, both in Iraq and in Afghanistan,” the defence secretary told Express TV.
The Associated Press news agency quoted unnamed US officials as saying that Mr Gates was referring to a proposed deal for 12 Shadow aircraft – unarmed drones.
The Shadow drones are smaller than the armed Predator and Reaper aircraft.
They come equipped with sensors and cameras feeding video images back to operators on the ground and are used for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering.
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