Despite a strong protest by the ruling Shiv Sena, former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's book -- Neither a Hawk nor a Dove: An Insider's Account of Pakistan's Foreign Policy -- was launched at Nehru Centre in Mumbai on Monday evening amid heavy security.
"The purpose of writing this book is to correct some misconceptions," Kasuri said during the book launch, "I have not consciously mis-stated anything in the book. You cannot make your case by mis-representing facts.
"For this, I sent a copy of the book to LK Advani, Manmohan Singh, Natwar Singh, Yashwant Singh, President of India & the VP of India a month before the launch," he added.
During his speech, Kasuri thanked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for assuring full support and security to the function.
The Mumbai police set up a three-layer security for the book launch event, organised by the Observer Research Foundation think tank, which is headed by former BJP ideologue Sudheendra Kulkarni.
Earlier in the day, Kulkarni, whose face was blackened by Shiv Sainiks, made it clear that the launch of former Kasuri's book would be held in the evening as scheduled.
Though there were reports that Shiv Sena would call off its protest, the party rubbished the rumours, saying it would continue to oppose the event. The party reiterated that it would not allow the book release.
Meanwhile, the Congress dubbed the Shiv Sena as "Desi Taliban" and condemned the attack on Kulkarni.
