NEW YORK, Nov. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- A Pakistani man accused of trying to help an al-Qaida operative sneak into the United States tried to convince a jury on Thursday that he was not part of a plot to launch a terror attack against Americans.

    Uzair Paracha, 25, is on trial in federal court on charges that he conspired to help an alleged al Qaida associate named Majid Khan slip back into the country from Pakistan after an illegal trip there in 2003.

    Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday after several days of testimony from FBI agents who said Paracha confessed his involvement in the scheme during interrogation.

    Paracha's attorney said his client intends to take the stand Thursday, not to dispute the agents' account but to argue that hisconfession was false.

    "He's not challenging their credibility," said the lawyer, Anthony Ricco. "He's simply going to tell the jury that he wasn't telling the truth."

    The defense has maintained that Paracha was exhausted and afraid after days of questioning and simply told the agents what he thought they wanted to hear.

    At the time, Paracha was not under arrest and was under no obligation to speak with authorities. His questioners, however, pressured him to keep talking, even staying with him in a Manhattan hotel room rather than sending him home to Brooklyn after one all-night interrogation session.

    Prosecutors said Khan's attempt to re-enter the United States was part of a plot to carry out a chemical attack. Enditem