WASHINGTON: The United States is examining ways to mitigate any Pakistaniretaliation as it piles pressure on Islamabad to crack down on militants, asenior US official said on Friday, cautioning that US action could extendbeyond a new freeze in aid.

Pakistan is a crucial gateway for US military supplies destined for US andother troops fighting a 16-year-old war in neighboring, landlockedAfghanistan.

So far, the Pentagon says Pakistan has not given any indication that itwould close its airspace or roads to military supplies and US DefenseSecretary Jim Mattis played down concerns on Friday.

But Washington has only just begun to work through its new plan to suspendup to roughly $2 billion in US security assistance, announced on Thursday.It came days after US President Donald Trump tweeted that Pakistan hadrewarded past US aid with “nothing but lies & deceit.”

The senior Trump administration official, who spoke on condition ofanonymity, said Washington hoped that the aid suspension would be enough tocommunicate its concern to Islamabad.

But the official cautioned that the freeze was also not the only tool thatAmerica had to pressure the country — suggesting it might resort to othermeasures, if needed.

“We are considering many different things, not just the (financial)assistance issue,” the official said.“We are also looking at Pakistan’s potential response … and we are lookingat ways to deal with that and to mitigate the risks to the relationship.”

The official declined to detail what steps were under consideration,including whether that might include possible unilateral US military actionagainst militants in Pakistan.

But as Trump allow the US military to again ramp up its war effort inAfghanistan, including with the deployment of more US troops alongsideAfghan forces, the official acknowledged a sense of urgency.

The United States has long blamed the militant safe havens in Pakistan forprolonging the war in Afghanistan, giving insurgents, including from theHaqqani network, a place to plot attacks and rebuild its forces.

“We believe we owe it to the Americans in harms’ way in Afghanistan. Wesimply can’t ignore the sanctuaries if we are going to make progress inAfghanistan,” the official said.— Reuters