Shahid Aziz has revealed that then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf had planned the operation along with his three confidants -- Gen Aziz Khan, Gen Mahmoud Ahmad, and Maj Gen Javed Hassan- while keeping rest of the institution in the dark in his book Yeh Khamoshi Kaha Tak, Ek Spy Ki Dastan-e-Ishaq-o-Janoon.
The revelations have kicked up a storm in Pakistan ahead of the elections later this year and renewed calls for a judicial probe into the misadventure to ensure that generals do not repeat such blunders, including Operation Gibraltar that triggered the 1965 war.
Earlier, Col Ashfaq Hussain's book `Witness to Blunder' had made another startling revelation in 2008 that Musharraf had himself crossed the Line of Control on a helicopter and stayed overnight 11-km deep into the Indian territory ahead of the operation on Mar 28, 1999. He identified One Col Amjad Shabir as the in charge of the post where the general had stayed.
Hussain, who was then part of the military's propaganda wing, identified Maj Gen Hassan as the mastermind of the operation. He writes that three soldiers -- Captain Nadeem, Captain Ali and Havaldar Lalak Jan, who was later given Pakistan's highest military award Nishan-e- Haider -- had first crossed the LoC for recce on Dec 18, 1998.
This was shortly before officials firmed up plans for the Delhi-Lahore bus service that was inaugurated two months later as then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee traveled on it to Pakistan's cultural capital to sign the historical declaration that eased tensions after the two countries had conducted nuclear tests a year earlier.
`Witness to Disaster' is based on the interviews Hussain conducted with officers involved in the operation and reveals that Pakistani regulars including 31 Azad Kashmir, 24 Sindh regiment were involved in the operation.
Hussain contested Musharraf's claim that they suffered 270 casualties, saying over 1,000 Pakistani soldiers and officers had died.
Aziz echoed Hussain on suppression of information during the misadventure. ``It was badly suppressed within the army and nobody was allowed to even talk about it... as such what exactly had happened became clear to me later,'' Aziz, whose family had migrated to Pakistan from Allahabad in 1947, told Pakistan's Geo TV.
He said he ``sensed something was going on in the Kargil sector'' when he analysed Indian intercepts. "I guess ISI as an institution was unaware of the operation.''
Musharraf's rival Ziauddin Butt headed ISI at that time. Butt had later replaced Musharraf as the army chief leading to the coup that deposed then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in October 1999.
Aziz maintains that he did not know for a fact that Sharif, who has so far maintained that he was misled over the operation, was aware of the plan, while Hussain says the then PM was briefed at the eleventh hour on May 17, 1999. But Aziz added that he had heard that he was in the loop and said a general quoted him asking him `` when are you giving us Kashmir'' during a tea break at one of the Kargil briefings.
He said Musharraf planned the operation to cut off supply lines to Siachen to force India to vacate the world's highest battlefield with an eventual aim to push it for `` meaningful discussion on Kashmir'' under international pressure amid fears of nuclear conflict. But he added that Kargil`` proved to be a huge loss to Pakistan's Kashmir cause''.
The officer painted a bleak picture of the soldiers on the front, saying they had even run out of ammunition. "But the culture is that things happening at that level do not reach the top officers.''
Hussain too confirmed the operations ``horrible planning''.
``People, who were sent, were not told what they were supposed to achieve. I asked all commanding and brigade officers are the aims and the objectives were... but no one could answer this question,'' he said in another TV interview.
Hussain debunked Musharraf's statement that the operation was an ``excellent'' plan, saying it was so as long as Indians were not aware of it.
Aziz, an Urdu-speaking officer like Musharraf, later assisted him in staging the coup against Sharif. He said the coup was pre-planned and he had even prepared a plan to mount a helicopter operation to do it. ``Musharraf had promised us that he wanted to make structural changes that would allow only clean people to get top slots and that he has no intention of ruling the country. ''
The Lt Gen was promoted as DGMO for the coup as his predecessor Gen Tauqir Zia was not somebody Musharraf trusted to do his bidding. ``They were not sure that he would support it and as DGMO his support was crucial,'' said Aziz.
Such insider accounts along with other such events in Pakistan highlight the unnoticed changes in Pakistan, where once-powerful army is no longer a holy cow.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Musharraf had planned Kargil operation with 3 confidants: Retired Pak general Shahid Aziz
Dengan url
http://obecedes.blogspot.com/2013/02/musharraf-had-planned-kargil-operation.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Musharraf had planned Kargil operation with 3 confidants: Retired Pak general Shahid Aziz
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Musharraf had planned Kargil operation with 3 confidants: Retired Pak general Shahid Aziz
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar