Kargil "misadventure" derailed Indo-Pak peace process: Sharif

Lahore, Aug 14 (PTI) 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 on Saturday 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.

Vajpayee was sincere about the peace process while
late Indian Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao showed the same
sentiments and wanted to replicate economic reforms introduced
in Pakistan in 1990, Sharif said.
He underscored the need for developing good neighbourly
relations with India and mentioned his own efforts for peace
during his two stints as prime minister.
Pakistan and India should shed petty issues and focus
on economic development instead of engaging in an arms race,
he said.
The two countries were not making the required progress
because of the Kashmir issue, he contended.
Both sides should seek an amicable and practical solution
to the issue.
The Indian people too want an early solution of the
Kashmir issue as they felt money being spent on arms could be
used for the welfare of the masses, he said.
Linking Pakistan's prosperity to India, Sharif said the
leadership of both countries should follow a free market
mechanism and enhance bilateral trade to usher in prosperity
in the region.
At the same time, Sharif noted that Pakistan had gone
nuclear due to India's atomic tests of 1998.
"It would have been better had it not happened. But the
tests by India and Pakistan also opened doors to peace between
them. Both Prime Ministers had come very close but they were
disengaged (by the Kargil conflict)," he said.
The seminar was aimed at promoting peace between Pakistan
and India on the occasion their Independence Days.
An Indian delegation attended the event and it was
announced that a group of Pakistanis was in Amritsar for the
same purpose.
Both groups would meet at the Wagah land border to light
candles to rekindle hope for peace between the two countries.