Just 20 years before today, Pakistan was conquered by India in the Kargil War on July 26, 1999. Today, the country is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the victory over Kargil. 527 Indian soldiers were martyred and 1363 Indian soldiers were injured in the battle. The battle was won by India in 84 days.
The bravery of the army in the Kargil war is well known, though few would have known that there was an occasion during the war when the then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee called Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif and talked to him. Bollywood veteran Dilip Kumar also had a conversation with him.
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Dilip Kumar also accompanied Atal Bihari Vajpayee on a visit to Lahore in 1997 and this year Dilip Kumar was awarded the highest honour by Pakistan with the 'Nishan A Imtiaz'.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee had initiated the talk...
Vajpayee was deeply hurt by the growing intrusion in Kargil over the phone from Nawaz and he had also expressed his displeasure with Dilip Kumar. Referring to this, he told Dilip Kumar that on the one hand Sharif spoke of peace and on the other hand army chief Musharraf was constantly infiltrating. The story is was also mentioned by Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri in his book "Nidar a Hawk Nor a Dove".
The book also mentions the incident of Saeed Mehndi, who was the principal secretary of Nawaz Sharif by Kasuri. Saeed Kasuri was Nawaz's class fellow and friend. According to Saeed, one day he was with PM Nawaz Sharif when the phone rang. It was said over the phone that India's PM Atal Bihari would like to talk to you. During the conversation, Vajpayee said that we had brought the message of friendship to Lahore, though you, in turn, gave us the Kargil war. Then Vajpayee said, "Wait, will make you talk to a gentleman."
Dilip Kumar spoke in a loud voice...
In a loud voice, Dilip Kumar said, "Mian, what did you do? You have always claimed to be a great supporter of peace and so we don't expect you to fight. As tensions make Indian Muslims very vulnerable, do something to control the situation," said Pakistan's high commissioner, Parthasarathy, who had a close conversation with Dilip Kumar. The conversation had made him realise that the infiltration of Pakistan in Kargil had tarnished his image.
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