NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Was Pakistan’s outgoing High Commissioner in New Delhi, Salman Bashir, ruing the fact of his early departure to an Indian interviewer or was he generally regretting in the broadcast on Sunday that he was not able to complete key assignments to improve bilateral ties for paucity of time?

A spokesperson for the high commission observed on Monday that the “title and contents of the report” in Dawn on Mr Bashir’s comments to popular Indian anchor Karan Thapar were “not an accurate summation of the High Commissioner’s interview” in the Devil’s Advocate programme.

The spokesperson refrained from saying what the correct version of the comments ought to be. It is possible, however, that the emphasis on Mr Bashir’s small regret, spurred by a pointed question he was asked, was intended to underscore the unfinished work rather than expressing a personal preference for staying a full term instead of being called back after just 18 months.

Mr Bashir in the interview was confident that the work in progress to normalise ties with India would continue to strive for a positive outcome when the veteran diplomat and high commissioner-designate Ibne Abbas takes over shortly.