By Afzal Khan
Islamabad: Former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf has claimed that the Kargil operation was a military success, offering an opportunity to seize 300 square miles of territory from the Indian Army, but the chance was lost after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited the US seeking truce.
On Lt. Gen. (retd.) Shahid Aziz’s recent allegations that the former Army Chief was guilty of putting a “tight lid” on the Kargil war, Musharraf claimed that Kargil was a military success but Nawaz Sharif lost it politically.
“We lost the Kargil war, which was a big success militarily, because of Nawaz Sharif,” said Musharraf. “If he had not visited the US, we would have conquered 300 square miles of India,” he claimed.
In the interview, Musharraf said Kargil was not a major operation but a localized one.