WASHINGTON, Aug 16: The White House has said that terrorism is not restricted to Pakistan’s tribal areas but is spread across 50 countries. At a regular briefing at the White House spokesman Tony Snow disagreed with a suggestion that all terrorism related activities originated in Pakistan.

The spokesman referred to a statement President George W. Bush made on Sept 20, 2001 when he pointed out that Al Qaeda affiliated groups were “not restricted to the Pakistani tribal areas or to Waziristan, but (were) spread across 50 countries all over the world.”

The Pakistanis, he said, have been very helpful on a number of occasions in the fight against terrorists.

Defending America’s decision to coordinate with Pakistan in the war against terror, Mr Snow said: “Pakistan had actionable intelligence about somebody who was working to fight the United States. “They’re entirely different kinds of situations.”

In a separate briefing at the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack rejected the suggestion that the plot to hijack planes in London and crash them over the Atlantic originated in Pakistan.

He noted that there were a lot of commentaries about the origins of this plot. “There are people who are looking at it right now, and those are the competent authorities to address the origins and the links back wherever they may lead, whether that’s in Pakistan or elsewhere,” he said.