Pak National Day row: Decision to send VK Singh well considered, says Govt.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday said that there was nothing surprising in Minister of State for External Affairs and General (Retd.) V.K. Singh attending the Pakistan National Day event.

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MEA official spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said that General (Retd.) Singh was asked to represent India and added that similar instances also happened in the past.

General (Retd.) Singh had earlier said his attending the function was part of "diplomatic civility", and wondered what the brouhaha was about.

"The government of India has to send an MoS (minister of state). They sent me and I went there and came back," he said.

General (Retd.) Singh had earlier , in a series of tweets, defined the words 'duty' and 'disgust', mere hours after being deputed to attend the Pakistan Day celebrations at the Islamic Republic's High Commission.

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While no direct references were made, speculations stated that he was upset at being asked to be present at a function with Hurriyat leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, among others.