BJP rejects Pakistan High Commission's explanation

New Delhi, Oct 19 (UNI) The BJP today rejected Pakistan High Commission's claim that its Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri ever made a statement, seeking clemency for Mohammad Afzal who has been awarded death penalty for masterminding the December 13, 2001 Parliament attack case.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said everybody had seen Mr Kasuri making this statement and it would be beneath his party's dignity to comment on the claims made by Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Afrasiyab at a time when his President Pervez Musharraf had touched a new low in ''peddling lies'' in his recently-released autobiography 'In the Line of Fire'.

It was not only BJP party president Rajnath Singh who had made the statement but the Centre also reacted to Mr Kasuri's remarks, Mr Prasad said while referring to the statement made by Mr Anand Sharma, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

Accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of displaying ''selective amnesia'' on Pakistan's role in terror incidents in India by issuing ''conflicting and contradictory roles'', Mr Prasad said it was time for him to issue a final clarification on the issue. UNI MCN HS HT1905