World | India
Indian foreign minister denies call to Pakistani president
India's foreign minister on Sunday denied he had phoned Pakistan's president at the height of the Mumbai terrorist siege.
- Agencies
- Published: 13:37 December 7, 2008
- Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
- At least 171 people were killed during the three-day assault last week across India's financial capital of Mumbai.
New Delhi: India's foreign minister on Sunday denied he had phoned Pakistan's president at the height of the Mumbai terrorist siege.
"I had made no such telephone call," Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement Sunday, reacting for the first time to the reports.
Pakistani Information Minister Sherry Rehman said Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari received a "threatening" call during the crisis that came from India's External Affairs Ministry.
She did not explicitly say the call was from the Mukherjee, but two other government officials said it was from Mukherjee.
Pakistan's media first reported the phone call on Saturday but described it as a hoax, which reportedly prompted Pakistan to put its air force on high alert, according to Dawn newspaper.
India's foreign minister accused Pakistan of trying to divert attention from the Pakistan-linked Mumbai attacks by leaking a story about the hoax call.
"I can only ascribe this series of events to those in Pakistan who wish to divert attention from the fact that a terrorist group, operating from the Pakistani territory, planned and launched a ghastly attack on Mumbai," Mukherjee said.
New Delhi has demanded Islamabad take swift action over what it says is the latest anti-India militant attack emanating from Pakistani soil.
At least 171 people were killed during the three-day assault last week across India's financial capital.
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