ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's intelligence chief said there will not be war with India over the Mumbai attacks and emphasized terrorism — not India — was the greatest threat to the country, according to a rare interview.
Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha also told German news magazine Der Spiegel that his powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency — thought to have a high degree of independence — was under the control of the recently elected civilian government.
The interview appeared on the magazine's Web site on Tuesday.
India blames Pakistani militants for the November attacks on targets in Mumbai that killed more than 160 people. The charges have raised tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, which have fought three wars in 60 years.
On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Pakistani state agencies must have had a hand in the attacks, charges dismissed by Islamabad as "propaganda."
Pasha told the magazine that "there will not be war."
"We are distancing ourselves from conflict with India, both now and in general," he said.
Pasha seldom gives interviews to reporters, and one of his aides said Wednesday that the comments made in early December were meant to be off the record. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Der Spiegel declined to comment on the aide's claims.
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