By IANS,
New Delhi : Seeking to clear confusion over the divergent views of National Security Adviser (NSA) M.K. Narayanan and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Pakistan’s response to the Mumbai terror probe, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Wednesday said Narayanan’s quotes were taken out of context.
“Selective quotes taken out context from the detailed answers have tended to give a distorted idea of what was actually said,” said a statement from the PMO.
“The NSA M.K. Narayanan has clarified that references made in the course of an interview by him were answers to specific questions put by the interviewer.”
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday underlined that India was yet to receive any official response from Pakistan, sharply differing with Narayanan’s reported comments on Islamabad’s attitude towards the Mumbai terror probe.
“That he (Narayanan) has stated in his own way. But the fact of the matter is that after they (Pakistan) received material from us, we have not received any official communication (about the probe) from them,” Mukherjee told reporters when asked about the NSA’s comments in a TV interview.
Narayanan, according to a transcript provided by CNN-IBN, said in an interview to the channel Sunday that Pakistan “appeared to be taking things seriously and at least they are proceeding in a manner that one would expect an investigating agency to proceed, asking queries and not taking everything that is given at the face value that has been given”.
The PMO statement further said that the “underlying theme of the reply to the question on Indo-US relations was the high expectation India had from the Obama administration with a hope being expressed that it would be possible for India to make the new administration appreciate India’s positions and views on the region, including Kashmir”.
“Similarly, the reference to the situation in Pakistan and the role of former President Musharraf were also made in the context of specific questions put by the interviewer.”