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Islamabad: Even as Nawaz Sharif struck a deal with US President Bill Clinton in July, 1999, to end the Kargil conflict with India, the then premier believed that the powerful Pakistani army would "get" him for brokering a truce.
Sharif never doubted there would be a military takeover and while the agreement was being documented, he anxiously whispered to Clinton, "They will get me Mr President."
Clinton quipped, "Yours is a rogue army. Keep them under civilian oversight".
Nawaz then retorted, "It is not the army. It is (a) few dirty eggs. They will meddle to cover up the Kargil debacle".
These revelations were made by Malik Zahoor Ahmad, a former information minister at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, in an article posted on the website of The News daily.
Three months after the agreement, the military led by Gen Pervez Musharraf struck and ousted the civilian government led by Sharif.
"The 'Dirty Four' were afraid of a Kargil investigation and a possible court martial. Washington accepted it as a 'fait accompli'," Ahmad, referring to Musharraf and three other generals blamed for masterminding the operation to occupy Indian military positions in the Kargil sector of the Line of Control.
On the eve of July 4, 1999, the US Independence Day, Sharif quietly flew into Washington to meet Clinton to discuss an agreement to end the Kargil conflict.
"Coming at the height of the Kargil crisis, the visit was critical. The Prime Minister's arrival in Washington was shrouded in mystery. The first reports of the visit came to the Pakistan Embassy not from our Foreign Office but the (US) State Department," Ahmad wrote.
"Everyone was caught unawares. Hurried meetings were called, confidential internal memos dug up, and briefs developed to be able to lay down all the necessary ground work for the emergency high-octane meeting," he added.
