Pakistan has decided to contest a lawsuit filed in an United States court implicating its top intelligence officials, including Inter-Services Intelligence Director General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
"The government of Pakistan has taken a firm decision to strongly contest the suit filed against the ISI, its present and past directors general," the Dawn quoted Pakistan's foreign ministry as saying.
"The government of Pakistan and its embassy in Washington shall defend the legal suit on behalf of ISI and its directors general fully and properly," it added.
A few days ago, a US court had issued summons to the ISI chief and some top members of the banned Lashkar-e-Tayiba for appearing before the court in January in connection with the Mumbai terror siege.
ISI DG Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, his predecessor Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj, Major Ali and Major Iqbal are among the Pakistani officials who have been summoned, while LeT chief Hafiz Saeed and his operational commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi are also in the summons list.
The orders are part of a case filed by an injured US citizen and the heirs of four others who were killed in the terror strike on November 26, 2008.
Last week, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the ISI chief would not be forced to appear in a US court in connection with the attacks, which India and the United States blamed on Pakistani militants.
