BJP corners Pranab on Pakistan visit

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday came under fire from Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which sought an explanation about the minister's comments during his two-day visit to Pakistan.

"Though the external affairs minister said that the issue of borders was non-negotiable, we also have Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement, which says that the borders are irrelevant. Whose statement do we believe? His or Dr Singh's," BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad asked.

The party also wanted to know why the minister did not bring up the issue of terrorism during his discussions with the Pakistan administration.

"Did he mention the role of the ISI in the recent brutal killings of 70 innocent Indian civilians in Assam? Did he raise the issue that Pakistan should not allow its territory to be used against India by the Pakistan-trained terrorists, as we had managed to do in the joint statement of January 2, 2006," he quipped.