PESHAWAR, Sept 22: A spokesman for the NWFP governor on Thursday denied remarks attributed to him by the media about some sensitive issues, including the demarcation of the Durand Line and activities of Baitullah Mehsud.

The spokesman said that on one or two issues, the governor had been quoted without understanding the spirit of his remarks.

Clarifying the statement, the spokesman said that the governor had not spoken about the expiry of the Durand Line agreement. In fact, on a question of fencing the Pakistan-Afghan border, the governor had referred to the Durand Line only “in the context of easement rights given under the agreement to tribesmen living on both sides of the border and their difficulties in case of fencing the border”.

As regards the activities of Baitullah Mehsud, which also appeared in the same news report, the spokesman said that in fact the reference was to Abdullah Mehsud, who was associated with the Taliban, and not Baitullah Mehsud as the latter had already signed an agreement with the army at Sargodha a few months ago. Since then, Baitullah Mehsud has been on the side of the government.

The spokesman urged the media to uphold the national interest and avoid digging out settled issues while reporting on sensitive issues. —APP