Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif admitted on Tuesday that Islamabad had breached a 1999 agreement made with India, specifically referencing the Kargil conflict orchestrated by General Pervez Musharraf.
Sharif recalled, “On May 28, 1998, Pakistan carried out five nuclear tests. After that Vajpayee Saheb came here and made an agreement with us. But we violated that agreement…it was our fault,” he stated at a PML-N general council meeting, which saw him re-elected as the ruling party's president six years after being disqualified by the Supreme Court.
The Lahore Declaration, signed by Sharif and then-Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on February 21, 1999, marked a significant step towards peace and stability between the two nations. However, within months, Pakistani incursions in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir sparked the Kargil War.
Sharif recounted an offer from President Bill Clinton, who proposed USD 5 billion for Pakistan to abstain from nuclear tests. "I refused," Sharif said, contrasting himself with former Prime Minister Imran Khan, suggesting Khan would have accepted Clinton's offer.
“President Bill Clinton had offered Pakistan USD 5 billion to stop it from carrying out nuclear tests but I refused. Had (former prime minister) Imran Khan like a person been on my seat he would have accepted Clinton’s offer,” Sharif said on a day when Pakistan marked the 26th anniversary of its first nuclear tests.
Reflecting on his 2017 ousting as prime minister, Sharif, 74, asserted it was due to a false case orchestrated by then-Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, while claiming the charges against Imran Khan, founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were legitimate.
Sharif also implicated former ISI chief Gen Zahirul Islam in the downfall of his government in 2017 to install Imran Khan. He challenged Khan to deny ISI's involvement in his rise to power, stating, “I ask Imran not to blame us (of being patronised by the army) and tell whether Gen Islam had talked about bringing the PTI into power."
He recounted a 2014 message from Gen Islam demanding his resignation. “When I refused, he threatened to make an example of me,” Sharif disclosed.
Sharif commended his brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, for his unwavering support. “Efforts were made to create differences between us but Shehbaz remained loyal to me. Even Shehbaz was asked to become PM in the past and leave me but he declined,” Sharif said.
As the newly re-elected PML-N President, Sharif vowed to renew efforts to fortify the party.
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