Pakistan says it will defend spy chief in US suits

[December 30, 2010]  ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Pakistan says it will contest two U.S. lawsuits that link its spy chief and his agency to the deadly 2008 attacks in Mumbai.

The Foreign Ministry's statement Thursday shows how sensitive Islamabad is to allegations that its intelligence services were involved in the assault that killed 166 people in archrival India. The ministry said Pakistan will "fully and properly" defend spy chief Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha against the accusations.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has already Pasha cannot be made to testify in the New York civil lawsuits. He wants the cases dismissed.

The plaintiffs include relatives of the attack's victims. They seek financial damages.

Experts say such cases rarely succeed beyond being symbolic. Many international defendants claim immunity or don't bother to respond.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
AP's earlier story is below.

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PARACHINAR, Pakistan (AP) -- A Pakistani government official say helicopter gunships pounded a militant hideout in the country's northwest, killing at least 20 suspected insurgents.

Jamil Khan says the army launched the strike Thursday morning in the Chinarak area of the Kurram tribal region after receiving intelligence reports about insurgents gathering there. He says the choppers also destroyed an explosives-laden vehicle.

Kurram is located near the Afghan border. Many Taliban militants escaping a Pakistan army operation in the nearby Orakzai tribal region are believed to have fled there.

It is difficult to independently confirm the clash or death tolls because access to Pakistan's tribal belt is restricted.

[Associated Press; By NAHAL TOOSI]

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