``The Indian Prime Minister has displayed a gratuitous malevolence which is regrettable,'' Tariq Altaf, the spokesman for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, said when he was asked to react to the comments made by Vajpayee.

Vajpayee while expressing relief that Sharif had survived an assassination attempt said in Bangalore earlier this week that Pakistan's abetment to terrorism in India had recoiled.

The spokesman further said to have given a, ``self-serving and mischievous twist to as serious incident as the attempt on the prime minister's life is unfortunate and in bad taste.''

The spokesman also said heads of states and government of a number of countries, particularly South-Asian neighbours have sent messages of support and sympathy to the Prime Minister onthe attempt on his life on January 3. Altaf also criticised Vajpayee's statement that India would demand the return of PoK saying ``this is not the first time that Indian leaders have said this. This shows their negative attitude to the talks.''

To a query what would be Islamabad's stand on the forthcoming round of talks in New Delhi, Altaf said ``we will focus substantively on the core dispute of Kashmir, a greater part of which is illegally occupied by India and where the Kashmiris are waging valiant struggle for the right of self-determination.''

Asked which part of Kashmir will come under discussion during the foreign secretary level talks, he said ``I don't think there is any country in the world which is in doubt about the nature of the dispute and about the nature of the demand of the Kashmiris.''

Assessing the year 1998, the spokesman said the year was momentous. He described the year as ``the year of our destiny'' following nuclear tests and, ``we are now a nuclear weapon state''.

``Eversince the creation of Pakistan our single most important pre-occupation was with safeguarding the security of the country, in the face of implacable Indian hostility and its hegemonistic ambitions,'' Altaf said.