No blackout of Rajnath Singh speech in Islamabad: MEA

New Delhi, Aug 4:

The government on Thursday described as “misleading” media reports that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s address to a Saarc ministerial meet in Islamabad had been blacked out.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said “media reports of a ‘blackout’ of our Home Ministers statement are misleading”.

He said: “It is the standard Saarc practice that the opening statement by the host country is public and open to the media while the rest of the proceedings are in camera, which allows for a full and frank discussion of issues.”

Rajnath Singh, who was in Islamabad on a two-day visit, spoke after his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) ministerial meet in Islamabad.

Only the speech of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was directly telecast.

Singh returned home on Thursday. (IANS)