Pakistan rejects US assessment of its terror fight

Pakistan is rejecting a White House report that criticizes its efforts to stop militants along the Afghan border.

The report released this week says Pakistan has made little progress in battling Islamist extremists and that there is "no clear path toward defeating the insurgency" in the country.

The U.S. considers Pakistan key to its efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and defeat al-Qaida. It has given Pakistan billions in military and other aid over the past decade to stop its soil from being used as a safe haven for militants from Afghanistan.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua on Thursday called the report's references to Pakistan "unwarranted."

She also says Pakistan should not be blamed for Western failings in Afghanistan.



THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide car bomber targeted a senior police official Thursday in a Pakistani region wracked by separatist violence, killing a guard and wounding eight people, police said.

The attacker first opened fire and then blew up his explosives-laden car outside the home of Deputy Inspector General of Police Wazir Khan Nasir in a high-security area of the southwest city of Quetta, said Daud Junejo, the city's police chief.

Nasir, his daughter and son were wounded but were said to be in stable condition at a hospital, Junejo said. The other victims included passers-by, and several houses also were damaged.

No one immediately claimed responsibility, but Nasir has played a key role in arresting Islamist militants and ethnic-Baluch separatists.

Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan province. Baluchistan has long been the site of a low-level insurgency by nationalists who say they want the province to receive a greater share of the profits from natural resources extracted there.