Amidst Democracy

By Engr. Hadeed A Sher

* Based on published interviews, books and news reports.

Prior to October 12, the most flabbergasting issue floating on the political surface of Pakistan was the Kargil fiasco. A lot has been written on the Kargil fiasco and despite the fact that during the Kargil misadventure it was Mian Nawaz Sharif who was held responsible for the "defeat" of Pak army.  Later on, after few years, when the dust settled it was revealed that Gen Musharraf and his triumvirate was responsible for the deaths of thousand of Pakistani soldiers across the LoC. The inane operation in the mountains of Kargil however, created a lot of misunderstanding between the bloody civilian government and the pious military clan.

In late September '99 Mian Nawaz Sharif went to Quetta on a visit where senior officials welcomed him. Among those officials was the corps commander of the  XII corps of Pakistan Army, Lt. Gen. Tariq Parvaiz. Gen Tariq Parvaiz was the cousin of the PM's cabinet member and it was made famous that he requested to meet the PM while his stay in Quetta. According to the interview of PM Nawaz Sharif, conducted a few years later, Mian Nawaz Sharif categorically denied that he never met Gen Tariq Parvaiz that day but the CoAS Gen Musharraf forced resigned the Lt. Gen Tariq Parvaiz on account of meeting the PM without his approval. While doing so Gen Musharraf forget how he met the PM on a single call from the PM house in Oct 1998, that too without getting approval from the army chief. It was evident that a tension is going on between the premier office and the GHQ. Parvaiz Musharraf also transferred the Corps Commander Mangla Lt. Gen Saleem Haider on the charges of leaking the information of corps commander meeting to the PM. News reports tells us that Mian Nawaz Sharif felt embarrassed on the press release about the cause of retirement of Lt. Gen Tariq Parvaiz. According to an interview, later published in a book "The Traitor Within", Mian Nawaz Sharif said that it was an insult of the democratically elected PM of Pakistan, after all Tariq Parvaiz in Quetta, if it is considered true, met the Pakistani PM not the Indian". Later the PM was told that an official negation will be published in the national newspapers about this issue. But it never happened since, Gen Musharraf left for Siri Lanka the next day. The CoGS Lt.Gen. Saaed ul Zafar tricked the Sec. Defense Lt. Gen (R) Iftikhar by saying that he is not in contact with the CoAS. It should be kept in mind that according to the PM Nawaz Sharif, Gen Musharraf use to abuse him in private meeting and two months prior to Oct'99 , in a meeting he said about PM that I will Sort this bastard out.