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Journalism of Courage
The Pakistan government today informed a court that it would only defend the incumbent and former ISI chiefs in a US lawsuit filed by relatives of victims of the Mumbai attacks and that it would not extend legal aid to Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed.
Deputy Attorney General Nasim Kashmiri conveyed the federal government’s stance in a reply submitted to the Lahore High Court in response to a petition filed by Saeed seeking assistance in defending himself in the US lawsuit.
The Foreign Ministry’s reply stated that the government would not provide legal aid to any private individuals,including Saeed,who have been summoned by a US District Court in Brooklyn in connection with the lawsuit filed last year.
A K Dogar,the counsel for Saeed,argued that all Pakistani citizens had equal rights under the Constitution and that the government was constitutionally bound to protect the rights of its citizens and defend them against “baseless allegations” levelled in another country.
