Describing President Pervez Musharraf as a 'traitor', former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharief has said that the Kargil conflict, which was staged by the Pakistani military, ruined the Kashmir peace process.
"I can only say here that (Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayee and I had almost decided a deadline for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute," he told Pakistan's Daily Times from Jeddah, where he is in exile.
"Vajpayee's visit to Lahore was a link in the chain. Had it not been for Kargil, whereby all our plans were sabotaged, the issue of Kashmir would have reached a historical resolution long ago," he said in his first interview on record ever since he was exiled.
He said, "All events in the aftermath of Kargil episode, especially 12th October 1999 (when the coup in Pakistan took place), are inextricably linked. The true version of the misadventure of Kargil shall not remain a secretÂ… the facts shall be brought before the public and all those responsible shall have to account for their deeds.
"For the time being I can only say that I took everything on my shoulders to save our army from a major embarrassment."
He said he would not return to Pakistan by working out an 'arrangement' with Musharraf.
Sharief said there appeared to be no meeting point between the opposition and the president.
"But who is responsible? How can one man play with the destiny of 140 million people? There is only one recourse to it now. Musharraf has to drop his Legal Framework Order completely, give up his uniform and step down.
"Nothing short of it is likely to work or should work," he said.