Musharraf told the Washington Times that his armed forces knew how to fight but needed sophisticated equipment and would go elsewhere if the United States refused to provide it.

In addition to the Predators, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Musharraf made a new pitch for F-16 warplanes which Pakistan ordered but which were never delivered as a result of US anti-nuclear sanctions in the 1990s.

"Just give us technical assistance. Tell us where these people are," said Musharraf, who on Friday left Washington for California on the latest leg of his American tour.

"Locate them for us. Locate them with your satellites; use your UAVs; give us the UAVs. Give us the eyes and ears and we will act," Musharraf told Times editors and reporters on Thursday.

Al-Qaeda suspects still on the run -- possibly including Osama bin Laden -- are suspected to be seeking refuge in remote, semi-lawless and mountainous areas on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

The United States has used Predators to track fleeing al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects in Afghanistan and ousted members of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, but has not so far exported the drones.

"I won't reiterate the requirement for F-16s," Musharraf told the paper.

"When you ask a Pakistani in the street, he will tell you about the F-16s. For the man in the streets, he will talk of either F-16s or Kashmir."

President George W. Bush said at a summit with Musharraf at Camp David on Tuesday that the aircraft would not be part of a three-billion-dollar economic and defense package he pledged to work with Congress to provide to Pakistan.

Some observers see it as inconceivable that the United States would send such high-tech equipment to Pakistan at a time of high tensions with its rival India.

A senior Bush administration official said earlier this week that the United States considered the F-16s a "dead" issue.

WAR.WIRE