New Delhi  - Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday denied making a telephone call to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

According Pakistan's The Dawn newspaper, the "hoax" call convinced many in Zardari's office that the "Indians had started beating the war drums."

Mukherjee, in his first comments on the matter, said, "It is, however, worrying that a neighbouring state might even consider acting on the basis of such a hoax call, try to give it credibility with other states, and confuse the public by releasing the story in part."

"We were informed by friends from third countries that Pakistan President Zardari believed that he had received a threatening telephone call from me on November 28, after the attack on Mumbai," Mukherjee said in the statement.

"We immediately clarified to those friends, and we also made it clear to the Pakistan authorities, that I had made no such telephone call," Mukherjee said.

Mukherjee said the only telephone conversation that he has had with a Pakistani leader since the Mumbai attacks was a conversation with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the evening of November 28. Qureshi was then in New Delhi.

"I can only ascribe this series of events to those in Pakistan who wish to divert attention from the fact of an attack on India from Pakistani territory by elements in Pakistan," Mukherjee added.

Panicked authorities put the Pakistan Air Force on "highest alert" and messages were sent to top officials in Washington, including United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. (dpa)