RAWALPINDI, Dec 15: President Pakistan Muslim League (Q) Syed Kabir Ali Wasti said the terrorist attack on the Indian parliament was a condemnable act but the statement of Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh was equally deplorable and concerning.

The statement of the Indian foreign minister was not only a cause of serious concern for the people of Pakistan but also amounted to interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign neighbour, Mr Wasti said in a statement issued by the party secretariat here on Saturday.

Instead of dictating Pakistan, the Indian foreign minister should have sought cooperation from the Pakistani government for conducting investigation and tracking down the terrorists, he said.

Mr Wasti suggested the Pakistan government should ignore the statement of Mr Singh and unilaterally offer cooperation for carrying out investigation into the incidents which, he said, was also a grave security lapse on the part of Indian security agencies.

The PML(Q) president said the way Indian foreign minister had reacted to the incident had created serious doubts particularly in view of the fact that the drama of hijacking an Indian airline flight IC-814, earlier this year was still afresh in the minds of the people.

An international committee comprising security agencies of the United States, India and Pakistan should be constituted to conduct an inquiry into the incident, he suggested.

Mr Wasti said the statement of Mr Singh was also a serious setback to the efforts for normalization of relations between the two countries. He said Mr Singh should refrain from issuing such statements against Pakistan, adding Pakistan is a sovereign state and should not be treated as Palestinian authorities being treated by the Israeli government.

Mr Wasti pointed out that the statement of Mr Singh was totally uncalled for because all the Kashmir-based organizations had condemned the incident and no one had accepted the responsibility of the attack.