Former Pak foreign minister rejects conspiracy charges By Modi, BJP

After former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh broke his silence on allegations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of Congress-Pak nexus in Gujarat elections, the former foreign minister of Pakistan has come out and rejected all the charges levelled against him. Khurshid Kasuri, for whom the dinner was hosted by suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer, has said that it was an "open" dinner where the conversation focused on "Indo-Pak" relations and that there was "no mention of Gujarat elections".

"There were 18-19 people including former Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor and many politicians like Natwar Singh, former diplomats, bureaucrats, etc. Gujarat was not even mentioned. And why should it be. I also make it a point that when I'm in India I do not talk about internal issues of India and only focus on the peace process. Gujarat was not mentioned. It's out of the question", said Khurshid Kasuri, former foreign minister of Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently at a rally on Sunday had hit out at the Congress saying that the Congress is colluding with Pakistan to impact the assembly elections in Gujarat. The PM also referred to a Facebook post by a former director general of the Pakistani army, Sardar Arshad Rafiq, saying Congress leader Ahmed Patel should be the next chief minister of the state. "Pakistan Army's former DG is interfering in Gujarat's election, on the other hand, Pakistani people are holding a meeting at Mani Shankar Aiyar's house. After that meeting, people of Gujarat, backward communities, poor people and Modi were insulted. Don't you think such events raise doubts?", Modi had said.

When asked Khurshid Kasuri told India Today, "There was no closed door meeting with anybody. All meeting was in the presence of all the people and it was an open dinner. All conversations took place in front of everyone. There was no exclusive meeting or conversation. I am grateful to those who attended."

Kasuri also said that there is no Pakistani who can influence elections in Gujarat and if he indulged in such activities during his travels to India, it would adversely impact the work he does towards peace between India and Pakistan. "Have not even heard of General Rafiq. Who is this guy. I am unaware of him but if he was somebody of consequence, you would have known him forget about me. Pakistani generals are normally very high profile. I don't know, you don't know, nobody knows. He may very well have been a General but after retirement everybody is a civilian", said the former Pak Foreign Minister.

He also ended by saying that his efforts towards peace have been appreciated and supported by leaders from all political parties and trough the NDA and UPA governments. He said, "There was not discussion on Gujarat because this is not on my agenda. I only focus on Indo-Pak peace and when I released my book in India both Congress and BJP leaders had attended."