New York/Washington:
US has rushed two top security officials to Pakistan to press the government to intensify efforts to investigate the failed Times Square bomb plot and convey the risks to the country's relationship with the US if a terrorist attack originated there.
National Security Adviser James L Jones and CIA chief Leon E Panetta are likely to land in Pakistan today, in the highest-level American visit to Pakistan since the May 1 failed bombing.
Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, 30, has been arrested by the federal authorities on charges of plotting the bomb at the Times Square on May 1. The US has said the investigations implicate the Pakistani Taliban in the attack.
General Jones "would not threaten the Pakistanis, but would convey the risks to the country's relationship with the United States if a deadly terrorist attack originated there," a senior Obama administration official was quoted as saying by the New York Times.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had also warned Pakistan of "serious consequences" if a terrorist attack originated there.
Jones plans to prod them to take tougher steps against the Taliban and other insurgent groups, the official noted.
Panetta and Jones would meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani and ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha during their visit.
"In light of the failed Times Square terrorist attack and other terrorist attacks that trace to the border region, we believe that it is time to redouble our efforts with our allies in Pakistan to close this safe haven and create an environment where we and the Pakistani people can lead safe and productive lives," National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in Washington.
At least three Pakistani nationals have also been arrested in the US on charges of providing finances to Shahzad, though it is yet to be known whether they knew where the money was being used.
Pakistani authorities too have made several arrests in Karachi and other parts of the country in connection with the Times Square plot.
The paper said the delegation may push Islamabad to get into North Waziristan -- stronghold of the Pakistan Taliban -- where Shahzad also claims to have trained.
So far, the Pakistani army has not entered the dangerous border region but has been preoccupied in South Waziristan and Swat.
Meanwhile, 'The Washington Post' said Jones and Panetta intend to reiterate to the Pakistanis the importance the administration places on more aggressive military action against groups allied with al-Qaida in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATA.
It said the bombing attempt has already given rise to questions from Congress about Pakistan's zeal in confronting radical groups though the US administration has so far been pleased with the cooperation from Pakistan in this regard.
"A successful attack in the United States would severely undermine a bilateral relationship that is a crucial part of the administration's Afghanistan war strategy," it said.
An unnamed US official was quoted as saying that it was important that the Pakistani leadership was told about "our latest thinking on the danger to all of us from the tribal areas". "That's very, very real," he said.
On May 1, Shahzad tried to blow up a crowded area of Times Square by placing a car packed with explosives in the popular tourist site.
The 30-year-old Pakistani American was apprehended 53 hours later at John F Kennedy airport trying to escape to Dubai. He is believed to have been working in collusion with the Pakistan-Taliban.
In two emails, the terror suspect has expressed frustration with the state of the Muslim world.
Having waived his arraignments rights, Shahzad is cooperating with the authorities.