Author: Express News Service
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: June 10, 2007
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/33191.html
In a startling revelation on the Kargil war,
former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif has claimed his beleaguered
Army chief General Pervez Musharraf had requested him to approach then US
president Bill Clinton to work out a ceasefire with India. Speaking in London
to The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta in a special edition of
Walk the Talk on NDTV's 24X7, which was broadcast tonight, Sharif said, "He
(General Musharraf) is the one who suggested to me that I should meet Mr Clinton
to bring about an honourable ceasefire between the two countries. And on his
recommendation, I sought an interview with Mr Clinton." Stressing that
he himself was "in favour of a ceasefire from the beginning", Sharif
revealed that had also confronted Musharraf, then the Army chief, during Kargil,
which he said was an "ill-planned, ill-conceived, ill-executed adventure".
"After having known what happened in Kargil, I confronted them (Army
commanders). I said why did you launch an attack in Kargil? And he (Musharraf)
couldn't give me any satisfactory answer. I said, "Tell me could you
reach Srinagar from Kargil?" He said, "No". I said, "where
do you go from Kargil, except back?" He said, "No here. We will
have direct control on the highway which leads to Siachen and Ladakh".
So I said, :Was this the only purpose to launch an attack in Kargil? So what
would you get by occupying Kargil?" They had no satisfactory answer.
I said this was a very ill-planned adventure. This is ill-planned, ill-conceived,
ill-executed." Asked whether General Musharraf had actually moved Pakistan's
nuclear assets towards the conflict zone, as was reported then, Sharif said,
"If they were moved, it was without my knowledge. Maybe, if we have an
opportunity of holding an inquiry we will do so whenever the time comes. Yes,
we will certainly look into it."
