Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan and the US have a "difference of opinion" on the issue of tackling militants active in the northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, ruling PPP Chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said.

"There is a position in America which (Democratic presidential front-runner Barack) Obama holds that if they have actionable intelligence, they should have a right to strike," Zardari said.

"We disagree with that position and we just want to make sure that if there is actionable intelligence available, then we will strike. That's where there is a difference of opinion. That's something I'd like to work upon," he told PTI in an interview.

Zardari's comments came in the wake of public protests against a missile strike on a Taliban commander's compound in Pakistan's northwestern Bajaur Agency that killed at least 12 people. The attack was blamed on a drone operated by US forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan lodged a protest against the incident.

This was the third such missile strike in the Bajaur Agency since 2006. In recent months, Pakistani authorities have maintained that only Pakistani forces have the right to take action against militants operating within the country.

Asked about reservations and concerns expressed by the US over the new Pakistan government's efforts to engage militants including the local Taliban in a dialogue, Zardari said: "People have had bad experiences in the past. So they are not acting out of malice, they're acting out of past experiences.

"So, one cannot fault them for that. One has to find a better model. I refuse to believe that there is not a better model available."