New Delhi, July 24 (IANS): Ahead of a meeting of its top leadership to discuss the escalating controversy about the India-Pakistan joint statement signed in Egypt, the Congress said Friday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to extract political mileage from the issue.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has convened a meeting of the party's core committee Friday evening to discuss the issue. It is scheduled to be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel, among others.

Refuting the BJP's allegation that the inclusion of Balochistan in the joint statement amounted to conceding that India was responsible for problems in the province, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said: "This is completely wrong, in fact we want a peaceful neighbourhood. BJP is trying to take political mileage by opposing the joint statement and making such allegations."

Ahmed added that a final view on the statement would be explained by the official government spokesperson.

The joint statement was signed after Manmohan Singh met Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm-el-Sheikh last week.

"Prime Minister Gilani mentioned that Pakistan has some information on threat in Balochistan and other areas," the document states.

It was the first time that Balochistan has been referred to in any joint declaration by the two countries.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad had said on Thursday that the inclusion of Balochistan would enable Pakistan to hold India responsible for problems in the province.

"By one stroke you have given some kind of culpable legitimacy to the government of Pakistan to allege in the international forum that India foments problems in Balochistan," Prasad said.

Prasad also said the joint statement would have a long term impact on India's prestige in the international community.