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Clinton had told Sharif of Pak’s plan to nuke India
Tribune staffer Prashant Sood interviews former Pak Prime Minister in London

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in an exclusive interview to The Tribune that on his visit to Washington during the Kargil war, he was astonished to hear from former US President Bill Clinton that nuclear arsenal was being moved out of the Sargodha air force base station to be used in the war against India.

Mr Sharif says he was not aware of any such move which was against the nuclear policy of Pakistan. “ I was worried about the information. The conflict could have escalated . My duty was to prevent any further escalation. I did my best. It was in the interest of both countries.” Mr Sharif reiterates his not being aware of the Kargil intrusion by the Pakistan Army.

On the deep concerns in the West about the nuclear proliferation linked to Dr A Q Khan, Mr |Sharif says the civilian governments in Pakistan were not aware of this and he had no information if the military establishment was in the know.

The former Prime Minister does not agree with those who feel Gen Musharraf is a valuable ally in the war against terror. “Am I not against terrorism? Is Benazir Bhutto not against terrorism? There is a very strong reaction in Pakistan to what Mr Musharraf is doing. It is conceived as an action of one man in the country who does not even consult the Parliament”.

He holds “dictatorship” responsible for the negative reports about the country, including reports in the UK media that many of those held recently on terrorism charges had been trained in Pakistan. “If these reports are true, then it is an extremely alarming situation. The basic cause of this is lack of democracy. If we have uninterrupted democracy in Pakistan, these forces will not be able to raise their heads. This happens only when democracy gets disrupted, when there is dictatorship in the country, when there’s one-man rule in the country.”.

Mr Sharif says US president George Bush should do more than merely talk about strengthening democracy in Pakistan and leaders of Western democracies should address concerns of the opposition parties.

Determined to return home, he feels it is only a matter of time. “It is the country where I was born, where I grew up, where I spent my youth, my life. I don’t think anybody has the authority to keep me away from my country. For the time being, yes, I am being kept away. But it will not continue indefinitely,” he says.

Mr Sharif says the opposition will resign en masse if there are any moves by Gen Musharraf to get another presidential term from the existing national and provincial assemblies. “I hope he does not do so. Otherwise, the opposition will jointly resign from their seats.”