FILE - This Jan. 31, 2010 file photo shows a U.S. Predator drone flies over the moon above Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan. U.S. and Pakistani officials say Pakistan's intelligence chief will head to Washington late this month to resume counterterrorism talks suspended over a deadly border incident last year that killed two dozen Pakistani troops. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

LONDON (AP) — Britain's government claims a potential court hearing into the possible role of U.K. spy agencies in aiding covert U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan would jeopardize the three nations' ties.

Noor Khan, 27, a Pakistani man whose father was killed by a drone strike in the Muslim country's northwest in March 2011, has asked the High Court to examine whether British intelligence officials assisted the strike.

A Foreign Office lawyer told the High Court that if a judge approves Khan's request for a full hearing into the CIA's drone program, intelligence sharing with the United States would be put at risk, and links between Washington and Pakistan potentially cast into doubt.

The Foreign Office said Thursday that a decision on whether to grant a hearing is expected before the year's end.

Associated Press
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