Islamabad: Indian Charge d' Affaires Sudhir Vyas was on February 7 summoned to the Pakistan Foreign Office to discuss the allegation against its Deputy High Commissioner Jaleel Abbas Gilani in Delhi of giving money to two Hurriyat leaders arrested in the Indian capital.

Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad said that during the discussion Pakistani side conveyed its point of view on the issue and did not lodge any protest.

Gilani in an interview to Pakistan's official news agency APP denied the allegations. "We deplore the utterly baseless and malafide vilification campaign launched in the Indian media against Pakistan High Commission," he said.

Rejecting the allegations that the two detained Kashmiris received the money from the Pakistan High Commission, Gilani said "such planted stories are the figment of the imagination of the Indian security agencies and part of the same strategy that India has adopted for the last few years to malign Pakistan".

He said such "baseless allegations" would further "vitiate the atmosphere" between the two countries. "We condemn this reprehensive vicious propaganda and regret this anti-Pakistan tirade of insult, which is in contravention of all diplomatic norms and practice."

Gilani said Pakistan High Commission has lodged strong protest with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

PTI