Kargil Operation: Musharraf kept Kayani in the dark, book reveals

The writer, Lt General (retd) Abdul Majeed Malik, gives full credit of atomic tests to Nawaz Sharif.

ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister Lt General (retd) Abdul Majeed Malik has disclosed that General Pervez Musharraf kept former army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in the dark while carrying out the Kargil Operation in 1999.

Malik, in his book Ham Bhi Wahan Mojod Thay, has made startling revelations regarding the Kargil adventure and shared his secrets. He has written that at the time of Kargil Operation, General Kayani was heading 12 Division that was responsible to guard Kashmir.

However, the former military ruler General Musharraf did not keep Kayani in the loop, who later opposed the operation. He said Musharraf was entirely responsible for the operation and he did not even brief the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif about his plans.

He has disclosed that General Musharraf called his chief of general staff from China to seek details of the briefing given to prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Kargil Operation – a briefing that was tapped by Indian intelligence agencies.

It was a grave breach of security to discuss such a sensitive issue on telephone call, Malik wrote. According to him, Nawaz Sharif made a wrong decision when he appointed General Ziauddin Butt as army chief after dismissing General Musharraf.

The book shares how Pakistan conducted atomic tests. Malik has given full credit to Nawaz Sharif, who, according to him, was mentally ready to go for atomic tests despite opposition from certain close cabinet members.

He has written that had Raja Zafarul Haq been picked as acting president of the party instead of Javed Hashmi during Nawaz Sharif’s exile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz would not have faced splits.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2015.