I made no phone call to Zardari: Mukherjee

New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) Rubbishing reports that he had
made a "threatening" phone call to Pakistan President Asif Ali
Zardari, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee
Sunday criticised Islamabad for giving credence to a "hoax"
and said there was a bid to divert attention from the fact
that Mumbai attacks were "planned and launched" from Pakistan.

In the wake of reports that the "threatening" call was
about to trigger a war, Mukherjee said it was "worrying" that
Pakistan was considering "acting" on the basis of a "hoax"
call.

Mukherjee, in a statement here, said his "last and only"
conversation with Zardari was in May during his visit to
Islamabad and that giving out such "misleading stories" was to
"confuse the public".

"We were informed by friends from third countries that
Pakistan President Zardari believed that he had received a
threatening telephone call from me on November 28, after the
attack on Mumbai," Mukherjee here.

"We immediately clarified to those friends and also made
it clear to the Pakistan authorities that I had made no such
telephone call," the minister said.

Mukherjee said the only telephonic conversation that he
had had with a Pakistani leader since the attack on Mumbai was
on the evening of November 28 when he had spoken to Pakistan
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi who was then in New
Delhi.

"It is, however, worrying that a neighbouring state might
even consider acting on the basis of such a hoax call, try to
give it credibility with other states, and confuse the public
by releasing the story in part," Mukherjee said.

"I can only ascribe this series of events to those in
Pakistan who wish to divert attention from the fact that a
terrorist group operating from the Pakistani territory planned
and launched a ghastly attack on Mumbai," the External Affairs
Minister said.

His statement came in the wake of reports in Pakistan
Saturday that he had made a "threatening" call to Zardari on
November 28 that could have triggered a war between the two
countries.

Pakistan is understood to have told this to US Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice.

India sees this as a "mischievous" campaign to divert
attention of the international community from the real issue
of Pakistani territory having been used to launch the deadly
attacks in Mumbai.

Pakistan Information Minister Sherry Rehman reportedly
claimed in Islamabad Saturday that the call was made from "an
official verified number" of External Affairs Ministry in New
Delhi by "someone" who posed himself as Indian External
Affairs Minister.

The call was "processed, verified and cross-checked" as
per procedures before being transfered to the President, she
said. PTI AKK
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