The United States indirectly supported the Laskhar-e-Tayiba as a result of which the eleven men accused of training for jihad in Kashmir cannot be prosecuted, a defence lawyer claimed.

Stanley Cohen put forward this argument as eight of the 11 men pleaded innocent in the US district court to charges of conspiracy, firearms violations and planning hostile acts against a friendly nation.

The other three defendants remain at large.

Cohen said the US government supported Pakistan and its intelligence agency in its dispute with India over Kashmir, despite an official position of neutrality.

The charges against the 11 men stem primarily from violations of the federal Neutrality Act, which bars citizens from engaging in hostile actions against nations with whom the US is at peace. Cohen said the Neutrality Act cannot be used because the US has in fact favoured Pakistan over India.

Cohen further stated the Pakistani intelligence agency has supported Lashkar, and he will be demanding classified reports from the US government to support his contention.

Prosecutors said the men were training to join and support the militant group Lashkar-e-Tayiba, which has been labeled a terrorist organisation by the US government in December 2001.

Sources said the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency, gave the tip-off that led to the arrest of Mohammed Aatique, 30, who is described as the leader of the group and head of the Laskhar terror cell in the US.

Aatique, said the sources, was a resident of Philadelphia. Though he held a work (H-1) visa, he was not known to have any stable income, they said

Indian and American intelligence agencies, added the sources, have been cooperating unconventionally and sharing intelligence of various kinds over the last few months.

Meanwhile, a home ministry report said that Pakistan wants Laskhar-e-Tayiba to globalise its terrorist activities following the dismantling of the Taliban and intense US pressure on the Al Qaeda.

The ISI is understood to have been instrumental in providing Lashkar chief Hafeez Saeed with the services of former ISI chief Hamid Gul, a person who was instrumental in creating the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

India has already detected four Lashkar cells outside Pakistan, including three in Gulf countries and one in the eastern neighbourhood, which was also used by the killers of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya.

Agencies with inputs from Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi