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Aziz contests Mush's Kargil account
Published on Mon, Oct 02, 2006 at 11:43, Updated on Mon, Oct 02, 2006 at 14:13 in World section
Tags: Musharraf, In The Line Of Fire , London
London: Rejecting President Pervez Musharraf's claims on Kargil, Pakistan's former foreign minister Sartaj Aziz has said the conflict disrupted the Lahore peace process.
"I do not agree with Gen Musharraf's view in his book that it was Kargil which helped in bringing back the Kashmir issue into international focus," Aziz, who was the foreign minister at the time of the conflict, said in an interview.
"In fact, Kargil led to disruption of Lahore process initiated by (the then Prime Ministers) Nawaz Sharif and Atal Behari Vajpayee. The military takeover completely destroyed the process," he added
Contradicting Gen Musharraf's claim that Sharif and his Cabinet were fully aware of the happenings of Kargil since the beginning, Aziz said, "This statement of Gen Musharraf is not correct. He has mentioned about the date of February 5, 1999. I was present in that meeting. Discussion was held regarding the road disruption along Neelum valley and the possibility of an alternate road. Kargil was not mentioned in this meeting."
"I would like to say some of the things said about Kargil in the book are not correct. I would agree with some of the things he has written about Kargil, but not all," Aziz told a BBC Hindi programme on Sunday night.
Aziz also contested Musharraf's claim that the political leadership of the country lost the gains made by Pakistan Army during the Kargil conflict.
"I do not agree with Gen Musharraf. It was Nawaz Sharif, who during his visit to Washington, when the conflict was on, resolved the matter in a way which benefited both India and Pakistan," he said.
Aziz said military option could not solve any problem between the two countries.
"Military entry point could not have solved Kargil and for that matter this option would not be able to solve anything between the two South Asian neighbours," he added.
The former foreign minister refrained from clearly endorsing Musharraf's claim that Kargil was a victory for Pakistani forces.
"Technically in the short run one may say so. However, it is difficult to establish the victory or loss in a conflict after the ceasefire. From army's point of view, this may be different, but once both countries decided to return to normal positions, victory or loss cannot be claimed," Aziz said.
Welcoming the Havana joint statement issued by President Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Aziz said, "This is a good step and should be sincerely taken forward."
Supporting the joint mechanism between the two countries to tackle terrorism, Aziz said "Mumbai blasts is a good test case for this."
"If a joint investigation could be carried out for Mumbai blasts, then the evidence would be credible in the eyes of international community. If those who have been arrested are made to go through joint investigation, thent he case would certainly be solved and both nations would be able to reach to the roots of terrorism," he added.
Aziz also appealed India to exercise restraint while talking about terror activities.
Asked how he perceived Gen Musharraf's rule, the former foreign minister said "Issues concerning Pakistan can only be solved when there would be a true democracy governed by rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution. Unfortunately, Gen Musharraf's book does not spell out a roadmap for any of these essentials of a democracy".
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