Pak general flattered Musharraf to get his support for Kargil war: Journalist

Some Pakistani generals who planned the 1999 Kargil war against India flattered the then army chief Pervez Musharraf that he was more daring than his predecessors to execute this venture, according to a Pakistani journalist.

Nasim Zehra, the author of a book titled 'From Kargil to the Coup: Events that shook Pakistan', said this during a discussion on her book at the Lahore Literary Festival held here on Saturday.

The discussed was moderated by British journalist Owen Bennet Jones.

Narrating the conversations between General Musharraf and other three generals involved in the Kargil planning, Zehra said: "'If the Kargil operation was so simple why it was not carried out before,' asked Musharraf. One general replied 'no one was more daring than you and only you can execute it.' The three generals also said their neck were on the line in this operation."
"When Nawaz Sharif was briefed about the operation after its launch, he was told that "you would become Fateh-i-Kashmir (victorious of Kashmir)." On this then foreign minister intervened and said the talks were underway between the two countries on the Kashmir issue, the general said "how can you take Kashmir through dialogue."