WASHINGTON - Pakistan has reportedly allowed armed US predator drones to fly inside its geographical territory for the first time to carry out air strikes against the Taliban and other extremist groups. Under the new partnership, considered a significant development, the drones will be allowed to venture beyond the borders of Afghanistan into Pakistans territory under the direction of Pakistani military officials, The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday. Pakistan military officials are working with their American counterparts at a command centre in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, the paper reported. The programme was created to enhance Pakistans ability and willingness to counter rising militant groups that pose a growing threat against the government and fuel attacks in Afghanistan. This is about building trust. This is about giving them capabilities they do not currently have to help them defeat this radical extreme element that is in their country, the LA Times quoted a senior US military official as saying. President Asif Ali Zardari, on a recent trip to Washington, reiterated a request to provide his country with its own fleet of predator drones, but US officials have all but ruled out the possibility. And instead, the new joint operation is being touted as an effective compromise. Pakistan, which has previously denied allowing US drones to take off from an airbase within its borders to carry out attacks in the lawless tribal region along the Afghan border, did not deny that the joint programme was now in place. The programme marks a significant departure from how the war against Taliban insurgents has been fought for most of the last seven years, the LA Times said. In a statement, Hussain Haqqani, Pakistans ambassador to Washington said Islamabad remained concerned that unilateral drone strikes by the Central Intelligence Agency violated its borders. But he also said, Pakistan has not been averse to using every available means in tracking down al-Qaeda and other terrorists. CIA predators flown covertly in Pakistan continue to focus on the United States principal target, Al-Qaeda. The military drones, meanwhile, are intended to undermine the militant networks that have moved closer to Islamabad in the recent weeks. Over the last month, the paper citing unnamed officials stated that the United States had offered Pakistan control over multiple flights involving both predator and more heavily armed reaper drones. Pakistan declined an offer to use the drones for its recent military offensives in the Swat Valley and Buner areas, and poor weather has caused other sorties to be scrapped. But the senior US military official said at least two missions had been flown in recent weeks under Pakistani direction. So far the missions have not involved the firing of any missiles, and some US officials have expressed frustration that the Pakistanis have not used the predator capabilities more aggressively. They said Pakistan was given the authority to order strikes during the jointly operated flights as long as there was US agreement on the targets. It is their decision, a senior military officer was quoted as saying, We are trying to put them in the chain, so they control the whole thing, save the hardware.