Wanted to go to India,says ISI chief,Pak Army says misquote

In an interview with German news magazine Der Spiegel,Pasha had said he had been willing to travel to India after the Mumbai attacks to help in the investigations,but had been prevented from doing so. Some people here are simply not ready (for such a gesture), he said.

Pasha had gone on to add: There will not be a war. We are distancing ourselves from conflict with India,both now and in general… We may be crazy in Pakistan,but not completely out of our minds. We know full well that terror is our enemy,not India.

Late on Wednesday evening,a spokesman for Pakistans Inter-Services Public Relations said: Some of the important issues (raised by Pasha) have been reported out of context or have been incorrectly constructed as a result of mistranslation.

The Der Speigel report said Pasha had switched back and forth between English and surprisingly accent-free German during the interview.

The spokesman said Pashas conversation with Der Spiegel had taken place on December 12,2008,when the environment was different from what it is today.

He added: Some of the things reported are either incongruous or have not been clearly stated.

Der Spiegel said the interview had been conducted in Pashas Islamabad office,but did not say when.

The ISI chief told Der Spiegel that he had been apprehensive of Indian military action in the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. At first we thought there would be a military reaction. The Indians,after the attacks,were deeply offended and furious,but they are also clever, he said.

On the evidence of Pakistani involvement in the attacks,he said: They (India) have given us nothing,no numbers,no connections,no names. This is regrettable.

India handed over a dossier containing the evidence to Pakistan on Monday. According to the Pakistani spokesperson,the interview happened three weeks before that.