‘Pillai, Hafiz parallel ridiculous’
Days after calling home secretary G.K. Pillai’s comment before the India-Pakistan talks ill-timed, external affairs minister S.M. Krishna on Thursday termed “ridiculous” the comparison of the Indian official with terrorist Hafiz Saeed by Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
“It is ridiculous to compare the home secretary of India to a terrorist,” Mr Krishna said during question hour in the Rajya Sabha.
On the eve of foreign ministers’ talks between the two countries last month, Mr Pillai had said that Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) played a “very significant role” in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Mr Qureshi, during the joint press conference by the two foreign ministers in Pakistan, said the remarks by Mr Pillai were “uncalled for” and made an apparent comparison between the home secretary’s statement and the hate speeches by LeT founder Hafiz Saeed. At that point, Mr Krishna remained silent. But later in Delhi, he said there could be no comparison between the two statements. “Such a comparison being made by a responsible foreign minister of a friendly country like Pakistan, I did not want to get in a slanging match there,” Mr Krishna said in response to a question by BJP member and deputy leader of Opposition in the House S.S. Ahluwalia.
The minister defended Mr Pillai’s statement, saying it was only a reflection of the information revealed in interrogations of David Coleman Headley. After repeatedly being urged by the BJP members to give a reason for remaining quite when Pakistan’s foreign minister made the statement and later talking about the comment, Mr Krishna said a reply there would have been of no use. —IANS
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