Pakistan Army had no weapons during Kargil, claims former PM Nawaz Sharif

Indicating towards former president Pervez Musharraf, he alleged that the Pakistan Army was used for a few general's personal gains, which disgraced them.

The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) supremo said so while addressing the third anti-government rally of Pakistan opposition’s 11 -party alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

“The task of initiating the Kargil war, which witnessed the deaths of our brave 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. The moment was painful for me when I learnt that our brave soldiers lamented that when they were sent to the peaks, without food. They did not even have weapons. They sacrificed their lives. But what did the country or community achieve?” said Sharif, who spoke through a video link from London.

He further 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.

Dawn quoted Sharif saying that the PDM has risen against unconstitutional power “that has made Pakistan hollow from inside and out."

"Looking at this enthusiasm, I am sure that no one will be able to violate the respect for the vote now. I saw this enthusiasm in Gujranwala and Karachi, and now I’m seeing it in Quetta," he added.

He criticised the PTI government’s performance and claimed that he was disqualified as premier over a “flimsy charge”. In his speech, Sharif also addressed the arrest of PML-N leader retired Captain Mohammad Safdar, stating that it was “shameful” how police officials barged into the room and violated the privacy of his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif and her husband.”

On whose order is the privacy of people violated? On whose orders are doors broken down. If even the province’s chief minister doesn’t know, then who is behind it?” he said.

The third anti-government rally of Pakistan opposition’s 11-party alliance, PDM, took place in Quetta, Balochistan on Sunday. PDM had earlier organised two mammoth rallies in Gujranwala and Karachi as part of countrywide agitations, calling for the resignation of Imran Khan.

Earlier, the police had “arrested” Safdar Awan, from the hotel they were staying in Karachi, hours after the PML-N vice-president had lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan and the PTI government at the second power show of PDM.”Police broke my room door at the hotel I was staying at in Karachi and arrested Capt. Safdar,” Maryam tweeted early Monday.

Several police officers on Tuesday applied for leave in order to “come out of the [...] shock” caused by the registration of an FIR and arrest of Safdar, according to Dawn.