WASHINGTON, Jan 6: The US administration is considering a proposal to give more powers to the Central Intelligence Agency and the military to conduct aggressive covert operations in Pakistan’s tribal areas, says The New York Times.

The proposal follows US intelligence reports that Al Qaeda and the Taliban are intensifying efforts to destabilise the Pakistani government, according to the report.

Vice-President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and a number of President Bush’s top national security advisers met at the White House on Friday to discuss the proposal, which was part of a broad reassessment of American strategy after the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Stephen J. Hadley, Mr Bush’s national security adviser, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and top intelligence officials also attended the meeting, said the report which was published on Sunday.

Several participants argued that the threat to the government of President Pervez Musharraf was now so grave that both Mr Musharraf and Pakistan’s new military leadership were likely to give the US more latitude.

The report noted that the Bush administration had not formally presented any new options to Mr Musharraf. The White House thinks the new army chief, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, will be more sympathetic to the American position than other leaders.

In the past, the United States has largely stayed out of the tribal areas, in part over fears that US-led operations there may weaken the Musharraf government. Even now, some in the State Department argue that such operations may result in a tremendous backlash, and could ultimately do more harm than good, the report added.

The NYT noted that the White House discussions might also be driven by a desire for another effort to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.

The CIA has launched missiles from Predator aircraft in the tribal areas several times, with varying degrees of success.

Under current US laws, most counterterrorism operations in Pakistan have to be conducted by the CIA. In Afghanistan the military can take the lead.

The legal status would not change if the administration decided to act more aggressively. However, if the CIA were given broader authority, it could call for help from the military, or deputise some Special Operations forces to act under the authority of the agency.

The US now has about 50 troops in Pakistan.