We'll destroy Pakistan terror safe havens if it does not act: CIA

“If it turns down our request, we would deal with the situation,” the CIA Director said.

WASHINGTON: The United States will destroy all the terror safe havens in Pakistan if it does not heed its demand, CIA Director Mike Pompeo has said.

“We will do everything we can to destroy them,” Pompeo said at a forum in California on Saturday.

The Trump administration has reportedly prepared a new strategy to defeat the terror groups, particularly the Taliban, operating from Pakistan.

Washington believes by defeating the Taliban on the battlefield, the US would be able to force them to reconcile with the Afghan government.

Asked how would the US persuade Pakistan to adhere to its new strategy, the CIA director said, “You begin by seeking their assistance.”

Pompeo said that Defence Secretary Jim Mattis is traveling to Pakistan to “make clear the president’s intent” but if it turns down the request Washington would deal with the situation.

“In the absence of the Pakistanis achieving that, we are going to do everything we can to make sure that that safe haven no longer exists,” the Dawn quoted Pompeo as saying.

The CIA has been conducting drone strikes in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since 2004, and it might expand to cover other areas of Pakistan, media reports said.