New Delhi, July 21: Disapproving the comments made by Union Home Secretary G K Pillai on the eve of Indo-Pak talks, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna Wednesday said his whole visit to Islamabad was “under-pinned” by the remarks, the timing of which was “very unfortunate.”
“Pillai could have waited till I came back to issue a statement. Perhaps it would have been wiser if that statement had not been made just on the eve of my visit,” Krishna said in an interview to a television channel, making public his displeasure with Pillai for the first time.
Pillai had commented that the Mumbai carnage of November 28, 2008, was planned by the ISI “from beginning to end”. “When the two foreign ministers are meeting after the Mumbai attack, there was a special significance for this meeting,” Krishna said.
“Everyone who was privy to whatever was happening in government of India ought to have known that the right kind of atmosphere from India’s side should have been created for the talks to go on in a very normal manner, but unfortunately this episode happened,” he added.
“Well, I have had some discussions with the prime minister,” Krishna replied when asked if he had conveyed his dissatisfaction over Pillai’s remarks to the prime minister.
After his talks with Krishna in Islamabad on July 15, Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said at a joint press conference that the remarks made by India’s home secretary were not “helpful” for better relations. Krishna’s criticism of Pillai has brought out in the open differences of perception within the government over engagement with Pakistan.
Disagreeing with the perception that his discussion with Qureshi had ended in a deadlock, Krishna said he was “quite satisfied” with his visit which has bridged the trust deficit “to some extent.” Rejecting suggestions that the outcome of his talks was a setback to the overall dialogue process, the Minister said the visit was a confidence building exercise and “to that extent, we have succeeded”.
Expressing his firm belief that India and Pakistan needed to remain engaged, Krishna said there was no other alternative.

‘KASHMIR NOT THE ONLY ISSUE’
Asked about his meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Krishna said he had briefed her on what transpired at his meeting with Qureshi. “She is happy that India and Pakistan are talking.”
On whether she had raised the issue of Kashmir, which she has described as an impediment in Indo-Pak relations, the Minister said “with me no specifics were mentioned.
However, the External Affairs Minister disagreed that Kashmir was on the only issue between the two countries. “Kashmir is one of the questions which keeps India and Pakistan apart but there are a number of other concerns such as terrorism,” he said.
He also advocated a graduated approach in the bilateral relations with Pakistan, saying India wanted to start with issues which are “helpful and beneficial” to both countries such as release of fishermen, people-to-people contact before taking up complex issues like Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek.
Meanwhile, upset at Pillai’s remarks, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday issued a gag order on the Home Secretary, disallowing him or anybody else speak to the media except the authorised spokesman.
According to reports, Dilip Raj Singh Chaudhary, additional secretary incharge of Naxal affairs, has been designated as the Home Ministry’s spokesman. The media was conveyed that he should be contacted for any official comments from the ministry and that nobody else will henceforth interact with the media.
Sources said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also not happy about the disparaging comments made by Pillai against some political parties.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
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