(Reopens FGN 14)

In the evening, Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed that Gulzar had decided against travelling to Karachi as a friend from the US had "misinformed" the poet that he could be attacked in the southern port city. "I attended the matter of Mr Gulzar personally. His friend from USA had called him and misinformed him that he might be attacked in (Karachi)," Malik said in a message posted on Twitter. Malik claimed Pakistani security officials had spoken to Gulzar and "assured him full security" in Karachi but the poet left Pakistan "despite assurances". He said in another tweet that Gulzar had left for India on his own and was "not deported".