ISLAMABAD, July 31: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was briefed on the Kargil operation before it was launched, Gohar Ayub Khan, the son of Pakistan’s first military ruler, disclosed.

In his book titled “Glimpses into the corridors of power” that is based on his memoirs, Gohar Ayub, who was a member of the federal cabinet when the Kargil operation was launched, said very few senior army officers were kept in the loop in order to maintain secrecy, and even the naval and air chiefs were not included.

Gen Pervez Musharraf’s confidence with regard to the Kargil operation stemmed from his assessment that the conditions were such that Pakistan would have an advantage over the Indians in the event of a war escalating on the international border, and if India broadened the conflict, Pakistan would have an upper hand.

Gen Musharraf believed this was an opportunity that would not be present again in the near future.

The author said the Kargil conflict came up for discussion before the cabinet on June 3, 1999. The then prime minister opened the discussion by bringing out a letter he had received from US President Bill Clinton asking for the withdrawal of mujahideen forces from Kargil and Drass sectors and from the posts they had occupied.

The memoirs of Gohar Ayub cover his recollections from his boyhood days to events of partition, his cadetship at Sandhurst, and the cataclysmic affair of state he witnessed as the son of Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, as also in his capacity as Ayub Khan’s ADC, and eventually as a politician in his own right.

The narrative includes details of important military campaigns of the period, before and during which Gohar Ayub rejoined service in the army, as well as pen portraits of members of his immediate family, political and military figures, and other leading personalities. The book launching ceremony was well attended by diplomats, bureaucrats, academics and journalists.