Indian scribe snubbed by White House

Journalist Raghubir Goyal irritated a White House official by asking too many Musharraf-related questions.

An Indian journalist, who runs a local publication India Globe in Washington, has been snubbed by the White House for asking questions related to Musharraf, Pakistan's leading paper Daily Times reported.

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Raghubir Goyal irritated White House press secretary Tony Snow by claiming that "many people in Pakistan believe" that the terrorist attacks on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's life were a "creation to get US sympathy and money".

Further, maintaining that the Pakistani leader had not helped the US, Goyal asked if President Bush still trusts the General.

Snow snapped back, "Goyal, you have just given a sermon against President Musharraf".

When the correspondent replied that he was "not against him (Musharraf)", Snow dismissed it by saying, "Yes, it is".

Goyal next claimed that Musharraf is "my friend" and "I know him personally", to which Snow's reaction was, "Let me put it this way: I can't respond - you've now concocted a theory where there are fake attacks on him, and I can't help you out".

Goyal is known for asking uncomfortable questions at regular briefings in the White House and the US State Department briefings.