‘Ridiculous’ to compare Pillai with Saeed: Congress
July 16th, 2010 - 4:23 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, July 16 (IANS) The ruling Congress Friday termed as “ridiculous” Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s attempt to equate Indian Home Secretary G.K. Pillai’s statement on the 2008 Mumbai terror attack with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafeez Saeed’s anti-India hate speeches.
“I don’t think there is any basis for comparison of statements by Hafiz Saeed or Salahuddin with the home secretary. That would be ridiculous,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters here, a day after the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan held talks in Islamabad.
The almost seven-hour meeting ended with no common ground with the two sides reiterating their known positions on thorny issues such as Kashmir.
When asked about Saeed’s hate speeches in Pakistan, Qureshi countered by bringing up Pillai and his allegations that Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was involved in the 26/11 Mumbai strike.
“Tell me, to what extent it helped (our dialogue)? It was uncalled for,” Qureshi said.
Singhvi said the “home secretary was simply making a statement of fact about what India’s stand has been. It is only India’s stand and there can be no comparison”.
- Congress slams Qureshi's comment as 'uncalled for' (Lead) - Jul 16, 2010
- BJP criticises Krishna for not defending Pillai in Pakistan - Jul 16, 2010
- India should be tougher with Pakistan: BJP (Lead) - Jul 16, 2010
- Comparing home secretary with Hafiz Saeed ridiculous: Krishna - Aug 05, 2010
- No question of making a comparison between Hafiz Saeed and Pillai: Krishna - Jul 16, 2010
- Qureshi"s comment on Pillai is only going to exasperate sentiments: Gul - Jul 17, 2010
- Call off dialogue with Pakistan: Sushma Swaraj - Jul 16, 2010
- Krishna ticks off Pillai, says comparison with Saeed ridiculous (Night Lead) - Jul 21, 2010
- Comparing Pillai with Hafiz Saeed ridiculous: Krishna (Lead) - Aug 05, 2010
- Krishna refuses to comment on Pillai remarks - Jul 16, 2010
- Indo-Pak talks - positive outcome or free-for all! - Jul 16, 2010
- UPA's Pakistan policy in shambles: Advani - Jul 25, 2010
- Krishna ticks off Pillai, criticises Qureshi's diplomacy (Lead) - Jul 21, 2010
- Where is the comparison between Pillai, Saeed: Krishna - Jul 16, 2010
- BJP hits out at Qureshi, but disappointed with Krishna too (Second Lead) - Jul 16, 2010
Tags: common ground, congress spokesman, foreign minister, foreign ministers, hafeez, hafiz, home secretary, india and pakistan, intelligence agency, inter services, kashmir, lashkar e taiba, mahmood qureshi, manu, ministers of india, salahuddin, shah mahmood, statement of fact, terror attack, thorny issues