Refusing to concede that there is an element of frustration in the way in which Pakistan has gone about in the war on terror, especially in the north-western provinces, a senior State Department official said there is indeed a "good dialogue" with President Pervez Musharraf [Images] on counter-terrorism.

"We're working very closely with the government in Pakistan on fighting violent extremists and fighting terrorists, some of whom are on Pakistani territory," US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said.

There is a lot of concern about the tribal areas -- north Waziristan, south Waziristan, the presence of Taliban and Al Qaeda [Images] and various other sympathisers on that territory. This is an area that hasn't been under any sort of real governmental control for its entire history, he said.

So its a tough issue and we're working on it very closely with the Pakistanis. It is as much a concern to them as it is to us, as it is to the Afghans and others who are operating in Afghanistan, because it is from those areas that you're seeing a lot of these terror threats emanate, the senior US official said.

President Musharraf had an initiative dealing with the tribal areas. He himself admitted that they needed to relook that, retool it and see how they can make it more effective.

We have various assistance programs working with the Pakistani Government that are directed at the FATA areas, he added.

"We have a good dialogue on counter terrorism with President Musharraf. And Pakistan is a sovereign country and we respect the sovereignty of our good friend and ally Pakistan. That said, we're working very closely with them on counter-terrorism issues," he said making the point that he could not talk about giving the Americans more latitude in covert operations.