NEW DELHI: Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said Islamabad had “violated” an agreement signed between him and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 that led to the Kargil war.
“On May 28, 1998, Pakistan conducted five nuclear tests. After that, Vajpayee Saheb came here and signed a pact with us. But we violated that pact… it is our fault,” Sharif said.
Following their historic summit in New Delhi on February 21, 1999, Sharif and Vajpayee signed the Lahore Declaration. A few months after the agreement, which laid out a vision of peace and stability between the two countries, Pakistan invaded the Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir, sparking the Kargil War.
“President Bill Clinton offered Pakistan $5 billion to stop nuclear tests but I refused. If (former prime minister) Imran Khan had been in my seat, he would have accepted Clinton’s offer,” Sharif said on the 26th anniversary of Pakistan’s first nuclear test.
The 74-year-old further spoke about how Pakistan’s then Chief Justice Saqib Nisar falsely accused him of being the prime minister, resulting in his removal from office in 2017. He said that while the allegations against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan were true, all the allegations against him were false.
Referring to former ISI chief General Zahirul Islam’s role in toppling the government in 2017, Sharif said: “I don’t want Imran to blame us (for being protected by the army). Please clarify whether General Islam had spoken about bringing the PTI to power.”
Sharif also revealed that Islam had asked him to resign, saying: “When I refused, he threatened to make an example of me.”
Three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif was re-elected leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Tuesday, six years after he lost his premiership following the Supreme Court ruling in the Panama Papers scandal.
“On May 28, 1998, Pakistan conducted five nuclear tests. After that, Vajpayee Saheb came here and signed a pact with us. But we violated that pact… it is our fault,” Sharif said.
Following their historic summit in New Delhi on February 21, 1999, Sharif and Vajpayee signed the Lahore Declaration. A few months after the agreement, which laid out a vision of peace and stability between the two countries, Pakistan invaded the Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir, sparking the Kargil War.
“President Bill Clinton offered Pakistan $5 billion to stop nuclear tests but I refused. If (former prime minister) Imran Khan had been in my seat, he would have accepted Clinton’s offer,” Sharif said on the 26th anniversary of Pakistan’s first nuclear test.
The 74-year-old further spoke about how Pakistan’s then Chief Justice Saqib Nisar falsely accused him of being the prime minister, resulting in his removal from office in 2017. He said that while the allegations against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan were true, all the allegations against him were false.
Referring to former ISI chief General Zahirul Islam’s role in toppling the government in 2017, Sharif said: “I don’t want Imran to blame us (for being protected by the army). Please clarify whether General Islam had spoken about bringing the PTI to power.”
Sharif also revealed that Islam had asked him to resign, saying: “When I refused, he threatened to make an example of me.”
Three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif was re-elected leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Tuesday, six years after he lost his premiership following the Supreme Court ruling in the Panama Papers scandal.
