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| Wannabe Zardaris, Pranabs have a hoax of a time | |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi December 8, 2008, 0:39 IST | |
 A gung-ho Pakistani establishment might be alleging that its President Asif Ali Zardari received a threatening call from Indian’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. But it is another story that even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office received a call from “Asif Ali Zardari” recently, but chose to ignore it completely.
In the last week of November, when the tension between the two neighbours reached a new peak after the Mumbai attacks, one evening a long-distance call came at 7 Race Course Road, the office and residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
When the telephone operator received the call, the voice on the other end said, “Main Asif Ali Zardari bol raha hoon (This is Asif Ali Zardari on the line).” He wanted to talk to the prime minister.
 Unlike the Pakistani presidential staff, who claim to have directly transferred “Mukherjee’s call” to his President, the smart telephone operator at 7 RCR replied, “Aap Zardari bol rahe hain? Please hold kijiye (Are you Mr Zardari? Please hold the line).” After a couple of minutes, he came back to the caller and politely said, “Everyone is busy now. Please call after some time.” Another call never came.
This story was narrated to some of the top Congress leaders and senior ministers. Everyone had a hearty laugh and forgot the incident.
In fact, when his office informed Mukherjee last week that the Pakistani President was alleging that he had made a threatening call, Mukherjee was astonished. The minister not only replied to the Pakistani establishment through his ministry but also informed the PM that he had never spoken to Zardari during the last few months.
Ministry sources also point out that there are a host of protocols attached to such calls. If the PM or external affairs minister wishes to talk to a country head, the Indian embassy in that country will first inform the respective foreign office and arrangements will be made to fix a suitable time. Then, at the scheduled time, a top foreign or PMO officer will make the call and talk to their counterparts before handing over the line to their bosses.
Last time, when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Mukherjee, the US embassy first contacted Mukherjee’s office. The Americans were informed that Mukherjee had taken a flight for Kolkata and would reach there after two hours. Rice’s office then took Mukherjee’s Kolkata landline number and even his local mobile number.
After Mukherjee landed in Kolkata, he was informed that Rice would be calling him at his residence. Mukherjee made all arrangements but when the first call came from the US, the local assistant who picked up the phone couldn't follow the American accent and Rice’s office had to hang up.
Mukherjee then found someone else who understands American English and this time, the two leaders could talk.
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