Former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, who was at the centre of a controversy after Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that he was involved in a conspiracy to influence Gujarat Assembly elections, has said that the accusation has "no basis."
Former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, who was at the centre of a controversy after Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that he was involved in a conspiracy to influence Gujarat Assembly elections, has said that the accusation has "no basis."
Reacting to Modi's claim that Pakistan was interfering in the Gujarat polls, Kasuri told a Pakistani TV channel that "it is a strange story with no basis. (ajeebo-ghareeb kahaani jiska koi sar pair nahin hai.)"
In an interview to Samaa TV, Kasuri acknowledged that he attended a dinner hosted by suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on December 6 where former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Vice President Hamid Ansari, former Army chief General Deepak Kapoor, several retired diplomats, journalists and the Pakistani High Commissioner were present.
He claimed that “even the name of Gujarat” was not uttered by any of the persons present and people only discussed India-Pakistan relations and ways to improve them.
“Where top former foreign ministry officials are present, what will they discuss about the Gujarat elections with me? I can’t understand this, even the name of Gujarat was not taken there,” he was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
“This is very perplexing and saddening,” he said.
On December 10, at a rally in Gujarat, Modi had suggested that Pakistan was trying to influence the Assembly elections, claiming some Pakistani officials and Manmohan Singh met a day before Aiyar made the "neech" jibe against him.
Reacting to the statement, Manmohan Singh accused his successor of setting a "dangerous precedent" and asked his apology.
Singh attacked Modi over what he called the prime minister's "ill-thought transgression" and rejected his charge as "innuendos and falsehoods."
Kasuri claimed that Mr Singh, at the meeting, did not speak and only listened as he did not think it was "fit for him to talk".
“A total of 18 to 19 people were there and the theme was Pakistan-India dialogue and ties, and how they could be improved…Except for Manmohan Singh, who said he did not think it was fit for him to talk and remained silent and just listened, the others spoke and after that I was asked to answer their questions,” he said.
Kasuri said BJP was raking up Pakistan, thinking that it will get more votes by polarisation.
“This makes it clear that may be through polarisation, the BJP thinks it will get more votes. It is very unfortunate that there is such thinking in such a big country that is the world’s second most populous and described as the biggest democracy,” he said.
Kasuri said that he had even met the former RAW chief during one of his previous visits to India but that doesn't mean they are "colluding."
“I also met the former RAW chief in one of the previous seminars. Are they all colluding? I was here for an event organised by Aspen centre to talk on Pakistan-India relations. Likewise, I was called for a private dinner where Pakistan-India relation, which is disturbed, was discussed,” he said.
Kasuri is a former diplomat and also served as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan during military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s regime, between 2002-07. He had made it a priority to normalise India-Pakistan relations.
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