Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday the United States is waging 'war' in Pakistan against militants

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday the United States is waging 'war' in Pakistan against militants, referring to a covert campaign the CIA steadfastly refuses to publicly confirm.

It was Mr Panetta's latest comment acknowledging drone bombing raids in Pakistan, an open secret that the US government declines to discuss publicly.

Speaking to an audience at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, the former CIA director pointed to a 'complicated relationship' between Washington and Islamabad. 'And admittedly, there are a lot of reasons for that. We are fighting a war in their country,' Mr Panetta said.

'They have in fact given us cooperation in the operations of trying to confront Al-Qaeda in (tribal areas)... And they continue to work with us.' But he said the two countries had sharp disagreements over 'the relations they maintain with some of the militant groups in that country,' a reference to Washington's demand that Islamabad crack down on the Haqqani network.