Nawaz Sharif blames army for Kargil war at Quetta rally

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, also the chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, continued with his strident criticism of Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI chief Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed at the opposition's third massive rally in Quetta.

Addressing the joint front of 11 opposition parties – Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Sharif made it clear that the generals are responsible for the poor political situation in Pakistan. Addressing the rally from the UK via a video link, he blamed them for the rise in poverty and hunger in the country.

He blamed "certain generals" in the Pakistani Army for dragging the country into the Kargil war with India and highlighted how Pakistani soldiers fought without food and weapons. Pakistan soldiers did not even have weapons during Kargil war, claims Sharif.

“The task of initiating the Kargil war, which witnessed the deaths of brave Pakistan soldiers, and disgraced Pakistan in front of the world, was not done by the army, but by a few generals. They threw not only the army but the country and community in the war in such a place that nothing could be achieved from it," he said.

​Sharif justified his naming of Bajwa and Hameed “because he did not want the army to be defamed.” The army’s brutal practice of picking up Baloch men of all ages, particularly the young, who raise their voice against the exploitation of the province and the denial of human rights continues unabated, Sharif alleged.

Talking about the 1999 India Pakistan war, Sharif said: "People who were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of our soldiers in Kargil… it was a call by few generals… we were thrown into war. It is painful for me to learn when our soldier were at the peaks, let alone food, they didn't have weapons… lives were sacrificed but what did the country or community achieve?"

Sharif said that these generals, who were behind the Kargil war, were also the ones who plotted a coup on October 12, 1999 and declared martial law to hide their actions and escape punishment. "Pervez Musharraf and his companion used the army for personal gains, and disgraced them," he said through a video link from London.

​"The Pakistani Army generals threw not only the army but the country and community in the war in such a place, that nothing could be achieved from it. The moment was painful for me when I learnt that our brave soldiers lamented that when they were sent to the peaks, without food," Sharif said.

In recent days, various Pakistani politicians have revealed how the country has been involved in staging attacks against India, referring to the Pulwama attacks against Indian security forces..