Nawaz Sharif Admits Pakistan ‘Violated’ Agreement With India Signed By Him And Vajpayee In 1999

The Lahore Declaration, a peace agreement between the two warring neighbours signed on February 21, 1999, called for maintaining peace and security and promoting people-to-people contact, among other steps.

May 29, 2024 - 09:30

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Nawaz Sharif Admits Pakistan ‘Violated’ Agreement With India Signed By Him And Vajpayee In 1999

Islamabad: Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, acknowledged on Tuesday that Islamabad had “violated” the 1999 Lahore Declaration agreement with India, which was signed by him and then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. I The revelation came during a PML-N general council meeting, where Sharif took over as the party’s president, marking his return six years after being disqualified by the country’s Supreme Court. Sharif’s admission sheds light on historical tensions between Pakistan and India, emphasizing the importance of upholding international agreements.

“On May 28, 1998, Pakistan carried out five nuclear tests. After that, Vajpayee Saheb came here and made an agreement with us. But we violated that agreement…it was our fault,” Sharif told a meeting of his party Pakistan Muslim League (N).

The Lahore Declaration, a peace agreement between the two warring neighbours signed on February 21, 1999, called for maintaining peace and security and promoting people-to-people contact, among other steps. However, a few months later, Pakistani intrusion in the Kargil district in Jammu and Kashmir led to the Kargil War.

During the PML-N general council meeting, Sharif asserted that he conducted nuclear tests despite facing pressure from the United States and subtly criticised former Prime Minister Imran Khan. “President Bill Clinton had offered Pakistan USD 5 billion to stop it from carrying out nuclear tests but I refused. Had (former prime minister) Imran Khan like a person been on my seat he would have accepted Clinton’s offer,” Sharif said on a day when Pakistan marked the 26th anniversary of its first nuclear tests.

He also talked about the role of former ISI chief Gen Zahirul Islam in toppling his government in 2017 to bring Imran Khan into power. He asked Imran Khan to deny that he was not launched by the ISI.“I ask Imran not to blame us (of being patronised by the army) and tell whether Gen Islam had talked about bringing the PTI into power,” he said and added Khan would sit at the feet of the military establishment.