Was ousted from govt for opposing Kargil, wanting to improve relations with India: Former Pak PM Nawaz Sharif

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said that he was ousted from the government by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999 for opposing Kargil and underlining the importance of maintaining friendly relations with India. The three-time prime minister questioned why he was ousted from the office of the prime minister prematurely. “I should be told why I was ousted in 1993 and 1999. When I opposed the Kargil plan saying it should not happen… I was ousted (by Gen Pervez Musharraf). And later what I said proved right,” Sharif said during a party meeting in Lahore. Sharif, who was on self-exile for four years, also mentioned the visit of two Indian prime ministers to Pakistan during his leadership. “We have delivered on every front. During my tenure as PM, two Indian prime ministers visited Pakistan. Modi sahab and Vajpayee sahab had come to Lahore,” the former prime minister said. He stressed the importance of improving relations with neighbouring countries of India, Afghanistan as well as Iran and strengthening relations with China. He regretted that Pakistan lagged behind its neighbours in economic growth development. Lashing out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s jailed former chairman Imran Khan, Sharif said he did not know why an inexperienced man was given the reins of the country. “The economy witnessed a downfall during Imran Khan’s government (2018-2202). Then the Shehbaz Sharif government took over in April 2022 and rescued the country from default.” With inputs from PTI