Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif acknowledged on Tuesday that Pakistan had violated the Lahore Declaration, an agreement signed with India in 1999, in an apparent reference to the Kargil conflict initiated by then-General Pervez Musharraf. Sharif made this admission during a meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) general council, which reinstated him as the party’s president six years after his disqualification by the Supreme Court.
“On May 28, 1998, Pakistan conducted five nuclear tests. Subsequently, Vajpayee Saheb visited and we signed an agreement. But we violated that agreement… it was our fault,” Sharif stated, referring to the Lahore Declaration he signed with former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on February 21, 1999. This declaration aimed to establish peace and stability between the two nations but was undermined by the Kargil War a few months later due to Pakistani military incursions into Indian territory.
Sharif also disclosed that U.S. President Bill Clinton had offered Pakistan $5 billion to refrain from conducting nuclear tests in 1998, a proposal he rejected. “Had someone like Imran Khan been in my place, he would have accepted Clinton’s offer,” Sharif remarked on the 26th anniversary of Pakistan’s nuclear tests.
The former premier, 74, criticized his 2017 removal from office, attributing it to a “false case” orchestrated by then-Chief Justice Saqib Nisar. Sharif maintained that the allegations against him were baseless, in contrast to what he described as legitimate charges against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan.
Sharif further alleged that former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief General Zahirul Islam played a crucial role in his 2017 ousting to facilitate Imran Khan’s rise to power. He challenged Khan to deny the ISI’s involvement in the PTI’s ascension. “I ask Imran not to accuse us of being backed by the military and to admit whether Gen Islam had discussed bringing PTI into power,” Sharif said, adding that Khan would “sit at the feet” of the military establishment.
Reflecting on his tenure, Sharif recounted receiving a resignation demand from General Islam in 2014. “When I refused, he threatened to make an example of me,” Sharif revealed.
Sharif also lauded his younger brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, for his unwavering loyalty amidst efforts to create a rift between them. “Shehbaz stood by me through thick and thin. He was even offered the position of Prime Minister in the past to abandon me, but he declined,” Sharif said.
