Apparently irked by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s blunt message to President Asif Ali Zardari in front of media that Pakistan should not allow its soil for terrorism against India, Islamabad on Wednesday said his remarks were “unacceptable”. In a statement made in the Parliament, minister of state for foreign affairs Malik Amad Khan said Mr Singh’s comments made during his meeting with Mr Zardari in Russia were unacceptable to Islamabad. During Tuesday’s meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Russia, Mr Singh told Mr Zardari: I am extremely happy to meet you, but my mandate is limited to telling you that the territory of Pakistan must not be allowed to be used for terrorism against India.”
Mr Khan said Pakistan had asked the Indian government not to resort to “aggresive media statements” and clear the air by talking directly with Pakistan instead of using the media. “I would still ask India to come to talk as engagements would be fruitful rather than estrangements,” he said. Pakistan will never allow any force to use its soil for terrorist activities directed against any country, he said. “During the past six months, Indian officials uttered some inappropriate statements about their certain reservations which were totally against diplomatic norms,” Mr Khan said.