The review involving the State Department and other government agencies as well as the White House would look at whether Pakistan had violated any US laws or rules that would require Washington to suspend aid.
"Everybody is going to do an inventory of the programs that we have and look at those specifically with respect to the law and our rules and regulations," McCormack said. US officials said Washington has contributed 9.6 billion dollars in military and economic development aid to Pakistan since it became a key US ally in the US war against terrorism following the attacks on September 11, 2001. Another 780 million dollars is due this year.
McCormack said the US government had to weigh its legal obligations against ensuring that it continued to bolster Pakistan in its battles against militants hiding along its border with Afghanistan.
"I don't think anybody expects that the president or the government is going to take a step that might make the United States less safe or might diminish our capabilities to fight terror," McCormack said. "That said, there are potentially certain requirements under the law. We're going to look at what is required and what is triggered by the law," he said.
When asked whether the US government might contemplate suspending academic links with Pakistan such as fellowships and scholarships, McCormack replied he was not aware of such a plan.
"The (exchanges) are very effective means by which two very different societies can better understand one another and really build up those kinds of bonds and links that are important in international relations," he said. McCormack said the US aim was to press Pakistan to resume its path toward democracy in the interest of Pakistanis, their neighbours and the world at large.
Building "robust democratic institutions that serve all of the Pakistani people," he said, will in the long term "be Pakistan's best defence against the violent extremists who seek to take Pakistan in another direction."
The White House meanwhile expressed broad support for "freedom of expression" and assembly in Pakistan but stopped well short of encouraging demonstrations against Musharraf.