In a statement read out to the media, Khan said: “ I gave the interview to the Pakistani channel three weeks ago. My statement was twisted and presented out of context by vested interest on the occasion of Eid and important Hindu festival of Ganesh.”

He said: ”I do not defend terrorism, and never did so. Terrorists have no nationality or religion. I condemn terrorism. I have not hurt people’s sentiments. However, if anyone is hurt, I apologize,” he added.

Earlier, Shiv Sena member of Parliament and executive editor of Sena mouthpiece Saamna, Sanjay Raut, asked Khan to apologize for his comments. Raut said the comments made by the actor were an insult to the country and its citizens.

“The statement made by Khan is very unfortunate. The 26/11 terror attack was a kind of waging a war against India. There is a ban on several Indian television channels in Pakistan. In view of the ban how can Khan give an exclusive interview to the Pakistani television,” Raut questioned.

The Sena leader alleged that Khan had given an exclusive interview to a Pakistani news channel recently in which the actor had stated in the interview that unwanted importance was given to the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.

In the interview Khan is alleged to have said: “Several terror attacks had taken place in the country prior to the 26/11 attacks. Those terror attacks were not engineered by Pakistan. And so can be said about the 26/11/ Mumbai terror attacks. The 26/11 terror attacks also took place at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and at the Cama Hospital. But that part is ignored in the discussions and only the terror attacks at the Taj and Oberoi hotels are discussed because some rich and influential people were trapped in these two places and hence importance is given to these places in India,” Khan allegedly told the Pakistani channel.

“Everyone and the world knows the truth that Pakistani government was not behind the Mumbai terror attacks, but the attacks were carried out by terrorists. It was nothing but hype and too much hype because elite people were targeted. And it is also a fact that the terrorist strike took place because our Indian intelligence and security failed miserably,” Khan told the news channel.

Khan further said that earlier there were attacks on trains and religious places, but no hype was created and no one talked about it. Those attacks were not planned or triggered by Pakistan but was from elements within our country, he added.

Ujjwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor in the 26/11 case, also expressed his displeasure over the statement made by the actor. “There was no need for an actor to speak about a sensitive issue like the 26/11 before the foreign media,” Nikam added.