US Army also uses Kiowa Warrior SCOUT helicopters for recce, targeting and scouting operations alongwith gunship helicopters. Now that Pak Army is getting a good fleet of AH-1 Cobras, does the Army Aviation also need a good scouting platform too or it shall depend on UAVs+Mushak obeservation aircrafts?.....
Army has Bell 206 helicopters for recce and scout.
You see, UAVs and Mushaks are not the plateforms to carry out kind of scouting required. As you have already mentioned in your post, to hunt for armour columns, recce and scouting is done while remaining undeteced, as done by US army.
Cobra is basically tank buster in warfare, with its 8 TOW missiles. To scout and hunt for the tanks in deserts, the requirement is of another helicopter, with small size, low noise and able to fly Nap of Earth. Tasnks are not hunted from above say 5,000 - 8,000 feet. Bell 206 has the ability to fly behind tree lines, at 5-10 feet from ground. Once it detecs the target, a squadron of tank, the waiting cobras are called to bust them. So it makes a good Hunter-Killer Team.
However, scout helicopters are used when this hunting game is going on over vast area, easilly traversed by scout helicopters. when enemy can be spoted by infantry troops, over a confined area, like there in NWFP, i think we donot need new scout helicopters.
