Pakistan’s Lawyer Urges Judge to Drop Mumbai Lawsuit

The New York lawsuit against Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agency could have “disastrous” consequences and fuel instability in a nation vital to America’s fight against al-Qaeda terrorists, an attorney argues.

Kevin Walsh, a lawyer representing Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, urged a judge to throw out the lawsuit – filed last year by relatives of New Yorkers murdered in a Hasidic center during the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India.

If the suit against the ISI and several ranking Pakistan intelligence officials is not dismissed, the backlash in Pakistan could undermine American goals in one of the world’s most sensitive regions, the attorney said.

“The consequences of this judicial inquiry have the potential to be disastrous,” Walsh argued in a letter filed Friday with a federal judge.

“The intrusion of these actions into the politics of Pakistan will fuel violence and extremism, directed against the government the US intends to support,” the attorney argues.

“The alliance with Pakistan is an extremely sensitive, important and difficult relationship for the United States,” Walsh said.

He’s asked Brooklyn federal Judge Dora Irizarry to throw the lawsuit out, emphasizing that any argument with Pakistan should be dealt with by American political institutions – not the US courts – which have no jurisdiction over government agencies in Pakistan.

The judge has not yet ruled on the issue.