Vajpayee govt's decision to expel Qazi was mistake: Fernandes

New Delhi, Mar 30 (UNI) Former Defence Minister George Fernandes has termed as ''a mistake'' the Vajpayee-led NDA government's decision in 2002 to expel the then Pakistani High Commissioner in India, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi.

''That was a mistake. It should not have happened,'' he said in an interview to CNN-IBN's programme Devil's Advocate.

He said Mr Qazi was given a week's notice to leave India after he had served here for more than five years.

Mr Fernandes revealed that he had had a series of secret dinners with Mr Qazi, where the two had built trust and formed a friendship which, in turn, helped to improve the tense relationship between India and Pakistan in the run up to the Agra summit.

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