Narayanan has barked up the wrong tree now

NEW DELHI: National Security Advisor M K Narayanan, who has been using TV chat shows to make important foreign policy interventions, on Thursday rolled back his statement warning US president Barack Obama that he risked ���barking up the wrong tree��� if he tried to broker a settlement between Pakistan and India over Kashmir.

A statement issued by the PMO said that ���references made��� by Mr Narayanan to the US were answers to specific questions posed by an interviewer.

���It is further clarified that the underlying theme of the reply to the question on Indo-US relations was the high expectation India had from the Obama administration with a hope being expressed that it would be possible for India to make the new administration appreciate India���s positions and views on the region, including Kashmir,��� it said.

In interview to a TV channel, Mr Narayanan had said that some elements in the US administration wanted to take the political scenario to the pre-2000 era.

���I do think that we could make President Obama understand, if he does nurse any such view, that he is barking up the wrong tree. I think Kashmir today has become one of the quieter and safer places in this part of the world. It���s possible that at this time there are elements, perhaps in the administration who are harking back to the pre-2000 era,��� Mr Narayanan had said.

The foreign policy establishment was taken aback by Narayanan���s assertions as it came barely days after US dropped India from the title of special envoy Richard Holbrooke. Washington���s decision to drop India from formal inclusion in Mr Holbrooke���s mandate was reflective of these sensitivities.

Interestingly, the statement did not make any mention of the NSA���s controversial statement in the same interview that Pakistan had reverted to India with a number of questions on the Indian dossier on the Mumbai terror attack. This comment directly contradicted the stand taken by the government and was rejected by the external affairs minister.