Clintons role in saving Sharif from execution following Musharraf coup

Former US President Bill Clinton had serious concerns that Nawaz Sharif might be executed after the coup by General Musharraf, as an earlier military regime had sent the then Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to the gallows, sources said.

Washington, Aug 25 : Former US President Bill Clinton had serious concerns that Nawaz Sharif might be executed after the coup by General Musharraf, as an earlier military regime had sent the then Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to the gallows, sources said.

The initiative to obtain former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's release came from the highest quarters in the Saudi Arabian Government, and the White House was kept informed of the discussions between the Saudis and the Musharraf regime, sources claimed.

They said that the US did not play any direct role but Clinton's concerns were well in Riyadh's knowledge. What passed on between Riyadh and Washington on the issue was not shared with the US diplomatic mission in Pakistan, which was "not in the loop".

After the October 1999 coup in Pakistan, Clinton made it known to Islamabad through a number of messages that he was concerned about the life and safety of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Daily Times quoted sources, as saying.

Clinton also felt that he might share some responsibility for the fall of the Sharif Government because when Sharif flew to Washington on July 4, 1999, seeking US assistance for an honourable exit from Kargil, he was told that Pakistan had been the aggressor and it should, therefore, bear the consequences.

While negotiations between the Saudi and the Musharraf regime over Sharif's release and eventual sanctuary in the Saudi Kingdom were in progress, the White House was kept informed of them on a regular basis by the then Saudi envoy in Washington.

ANI