Former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif has said the day is not far off when a commission will be set up to probe the Kargil ‘misadventure’ in 1999, which had stabbed in the back the peace process he had started with his Indian counterpart in the same year.
"I appreciate the Indians who conducted an inquiry into the Kargil incident. Should I appreciate those who did not allow a probe in Pakistan? A day will come when a commission will find out who launched the operation and why, preventing any such episode in future," the president of the main opposition PML-N party said.
Addressing a seminar here yesterday on the theme ‘Building bridges in the subcontinent’, Sharif regretted that the peace process which had brought then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Lahore was derailed by the Kargil conflict.
"Who should I blame for the misadventure? But you know who did it. It not only damaged Pakistan but also himself," he said, without naming former President Pervez Musharraf, who was the army chief at the time of the Kargil incident.
Sharif said that, to his surprise, Vajpayee had told him in 1999 that India wanted to resolve all differences between the two countries, especially the Kashmir issue. He said he had found Indian leaders keener on peace between the two countries than himself.
"I was keen but hesitant, fearing my intentions would be misinterpreted in Pakistan. But when they (Indian leaders) took the initiative, wholeheartedly worked for the peace process," he said.