WASHINGTON, Oct 19: US satellites and spy planes, which have long been used to hunt Osama bin Laden on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, are now helping to give Pakistan a detailed picture of its massive earthquake damage.

US officials said the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or the NGA, had provided Pakistan government with hundreds of overhead images, maps, charts and text documents showing the effects of the quake.

They said it was part of a Pentagon effort to enhance US ties with strategic partners.

High-altitude US optical sensors have been trained mainly on areas surrounding the epicentre, north of Islamabad, to give Pakistani officials a picture of damaged roads, bridges and buildings across a remote and mountainous terrain.

The Bethesda, defence agency which analyzes classified images and other intelligence data provided by high-altitude sensors, has already been searching Pakistan’s nearby border with Afghanistan for clues on the whereabouts of Al Qaeda leader bin Laden.

But at a time when lawmakers in the Congress have criticized the cost and effectiveness of high-altitude intelligence, the NGA sees new possibilities in disaster relief.

“A potential growth area for us is the ability to respond to disasters worldwide,” said Lynne Puetz, director of the NGA’s Americas office.

Pakistan requested U2 and satellite assistance soon after the quake struck, and the agency has since been providing updates on the effects of dozens of aftershocks.—Reuters