No one contacted Pak army chief: PMO

The Prime Minister's Office on Sunday described as false media reports that Manmohan Singh had initiated a back-channel exercise for talks between an "unofficial" Indian envoy and Pakistani army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani 10 months ago. HT reports.

The Prime Minister's Office on Sunday described as false media reports that Manmohan Singh had initiated a back-channel exercise for talks between an "unofficial" Indian envoy and Pakistani army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani 10 months ago.

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"We have seen media reports quoting a British newspaper, saying that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh contacted Pakistan army chief Gen Kayani before the Mohali meeting between the two prime ministers. The report is false," PM's media adviser Harish Khare said in a statement.

The Times, London, reported on Saturday that Singh had appointed an unofficial envoy to contact Kayani, who is believed to have a considerable influence over Pakistan’s foreign policy.

The talks, through a back channel, have led the UK and US to believe that the countries' competition for influence in Afghanistan could be better managed during efforts to start a peace process, the report said.