New Delhi: The mention of Balochistan in the Indo-Pak joint statement continued to haunt the government which sought to distance itself claiming that it was a "unilateral reference" of Pakistan, a stand rejected by the opposition which walked out of Lok Sabha.
Facing the opposition onslaught, the ruling side fielded Leader of the House and former External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who made a spirited defence of the joint statement but got into trouble when he said that reference to Balochistan was unilateral on the part of Pakistan.
"When you describe as unilateral, we are not a party to it. This is Pakistan's perception. It is not shared by us," he said while intervening in the debate on the joint statement issued after the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm-el Sheikh in Egypt on July 16.
Mukherjee sought to take refuge in NDA's memorandum to President Pratibha Patil which referred to unilateral mention by Pakistan.
But this was hotly contested by Leader of the Opposition L K Advani who wondered "why Balochistan was mentioned in a joint statement. I am sure the Prime Minister must have told Gilani that we have nothing to do with Balochistan.
"Why we should not have added our statement? This is the first time that Balochistan has been mentioned in a joint statement. It will keep coming again and again to trouble you."