Pak reacts strongly to Krishna's statement

Pakistan on Wednesday voiced concern over External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's remarks -- that next week's Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks should not be 'mistaken' for resumption of composite dialogue -- saying "the outcome of the meeting should not be prejudged nor its scope circumscribed".

"We have noted with concern remarks attributed by the media to India's External Affairs Minister on the forthcoming meeting of the Foreign Secretaries in New Delhi, that these will be unifocal and that there would be no resumption of Composite Dialogue. This is contrary to our understanding," the Pakistan foreign office said in a statement.

Seeking a clarification on this account, it said the outcome of the February 25 meeting in New Delhi "should not be prejudged nor its scope circumscribed".

Earlier in New Delhi, Krishna said the parleys should not be 'mistaken' for resumption of the composite dialogue as these were 'exploratory' talks.

Asserting that the composite dialogue was 'suspended', he said, "Let the nation not be under mistaken inference that the composite dialogue is being renewed. The issue that we raised remains to be addressed by Pakistan with a degree of seriousness."