Pakistan’s former dictator General Pervez Musharraf has attacked Nawaz Sharif and blamed the ousted prime minister for withdrawing from Kargil in 1999 under pressure from India when the Pakistan Army was in a “dominating position“.
Gen. Musharraf, who was the army chief during the Kargil War, also demanded that Mr. Sharif should be tried for treason for his controversial remarks on the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
The 74-year-old retired general, facing a slew of cases in Pakistan, has been living in Dubai since last year when he was allowed to leave the country for medical treatment.
While reacting to Mr. Sharif’s statement on the Mumbai attack, Gen. Musharraf, the chief of the All Pakistan Muslim League, also talked about the Kargil War, blaming withdrawal of the Pakistan Army on Mr. Sharif.
Elaborating on the war and its happenings, he said that Pakistan was in a dominating position in five different fronts in the war, and that the then-prime minister was briefed on the situation at least two times.
He rejected Mr. Sharif’s claims that he was not taken into confidence about the withdrawal of the Pakistan Army from Kargil.
“He kept asking me whether we should withdraw,” said Gen. Musharraf in his video statement.
The former president and military ruler also said that then-senator Raja Zafarul Haq and interior minister of the time Chaudhry Shujaat had opposed the withdrawal of the army.
But, he said Mr. Sharif issued the order to withdraw the army from Kargil when he visited the U.S. Mr. Musharraf claimed Mr. Sharif was “put under pressure” by the Indian government.