ISLAMABAD, Jan 5: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao on Wednesday ruled out any possibility of deployment of US forces in Wana, an area considered to be the hub of terrorists and foreign militants.

Talking to reporters at a function organized by the Pakistan People's Party in Rawalpindi to celebrate the 77th birth anniversary of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the interior minister said neither the US force had launched any operation in Wana nor there was any plan for their deployment in that area in future.

He termed a report from Washington published in local newspapers on Tuesday "untrue" which hinted that President Gen Pervez Musharraf was trying to strike a deal with PPP (Parliamentarians) chairperson Benazir Bhutto to counter any opposition on the deployment of US forces in tribal areas in near future.

"There is no such thing because we are capable of defending our frontiers and our own areas," Mr Sherpao said, adding that things were improving in Wana. Mr Sherpao said he had briefed the cabinet on the overall law and order situation in Wana in its meeting on Wednesday.

"With the launching of political measures and military operation, things are improving day by day in Wana and in the rest of the country the menace of terrorism is now under control," he said.

Talking about the issue of religion column in machine readable passports, the minister said the cabinet had formed a committee headed by Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal to take a decision in this regard.

The committee, he said, would thoroughly look into matter and submit its report to the cabinet. However, he said, the interior ministry had expressed its position to the cabinet that it was impossible to include any additional column in the data of MRPs. "But now it is up to the committee to take a decision on the matter," he said.

Asked why he was not included in the committee, he said, as he had been representing the interior ministry, which had already expressed its views on the issue, there was no need to include him in the committee.