External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today hosted a lunch for Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf but did not discuss issues like terrorism with him.
“This was a private visit. It was a pilgrimage (for Ashraf). This was not the occasion nor did I have the authority to discuss such issues,” he told reporters after the lunch at Rambagh Palace Hotel here.
He was replying to a question whether terrorism was discussed with his guest.
“We have taken up such issues. We will do it in future.
Today it was a private visit. There was no official talk. We will do it at the appropriate time,” Khurshid said.
Khurshid said the lunch was hosted as a matter of courtesy and in keeping with the post he holds.
He said the Prime Minister has come on a pilgrimage and everything was being done in accordance with the purpose of the visit.
“We agreed for his programme and everything was done in this backdrop,” he said.
On the Opposition parties, including the BJP, questioning the need to welcome the Pakistan Prime Minister, Khurshid said: “They just have to look at their own history and they would know why.”.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.