Pakistani leaders meet to discuss US claims

[September 29, 2011]  ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Pakistan's political and military leaders are meeting to formulate a response to U.S. allegations that the country's main spy agency is supporting Afghan insurgents.

The claims have triggered fears here that America may launch military action in Pakistan.

Intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha will address the gathering later Thursday in the capital Islamabad.

Adm. Mike Mullen, America's top military officer, last week accused the militant Haqqani network of being a "veritable arm" of the Pakistani spy agency.

Pakistan has denied the allegations, and accused Washington of making it a scapegoat for its failures in Afghanistan.

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

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CHAMAN, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistani authorities have closed one of the two border crossings used by trucks carrying NATO war supplies into Afghanistan after a bomb hit an oil tanker.

Police officer Mohammad Tayab says the Chaman border crossing was closed "for security reasons" after an explosion on Thursday killed a bomb disposal expert who was trying to defuse the device.

Tayab didn't elaborate on the bombing attack.

Pakistan sometimes closes the border temporarily after attacks, though earlier this year the other, busier route in Torkham was closed for 10 days in protest against the killing of two Pakistani troops by a NATO helicopter nearby.

Relations between U.S. and Pakistan are currently strained because of U.S. allegations Islamabad supports Afghan insurgents.

[Associated Press]

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