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Kargil invasion may 'boomerang' on Pak PM

The Pakistan-supported invasion of the Kargil-Drass region may ultimately boomerang on the Nawaz Sharief government.

The Pakistan army, whose image was sagging until it had invaded the Kargil-Drass region of Jammu and Kashmir, is fast regaining its popularity. Conversely, the image of Prime Minister Sharief and his colleagues has suffered a severe setback because of the recent BBC television film which showed his family's corruption, his persecution of senior journalists and his handling of the economy which has been the cause of many suicides in recent months.

The federal budget his government has presented in the National Assembly might wake things worse for him, according to Pakistani economists.

Rumours have been making rounds that a plan has been prepared to remove Sharief from power and try him for corruption just as he has done with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

After the 13th amendment to the constitution, the elected government cannot be dismissed by the president. Only the army can do that in a coup. It is said the army still remembers the humiliation it faced at the time of sacking of General Jahangir Karamat in October last year by Sharief.

It is very clear that the army and Islamic militants whom the former helped infiltrate the Kargil-Drass sectors, are not willing to let the Sharief government resolve the present crisis.

While Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz was talking to his Indian counterpart Jaswant Singh in New Delhi, the Lashkar-i-Toiba announced it would not vacate any territory captured by it on the Indian side of the Line of Control.

Before the Aziz-Singh talks started, Pakistan military spokesman Brigadier Rashid Qureshi made a sensational admission that the Pakistani army has occupied strategic heights in the Kargil-Drass sector.

Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed, who has reposed full faith in the army's ability to defend the country, has asked the judiciary, administration and other constitutional institutions not to leave the fate of the country to the whims and wishes of an individual (Sharief) at this crucial hour.

The Jamaat recently organised an all-party conference on the freedom of the press to highlight Sharief's undemocratic attitude towards his critics.

Two notable non-invitees to this conference were the ruling Muslim League and the Pakistan People's Party.

UNI

The Kargil Crisis

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