Former Pakistani military officers have acknowledged the 1999 Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan as a strategic blunder for their country. Retired Colonel Ashfaq Hussain has stated that the incursion into Kargil was a significant mistake and failure, proving to be a disaster for Pakistan. He emphasized that the Kargil operation was a bigger blunder for Pakistan than the surrender in 1971.
The Kargil incursion was a grave miscalculation and a violation of the Lahore Summit Agreement between India and Pakistan
The Pakistani military refused to acknowledge its involvement in the operation and even declined to accept the bodies of its soldiers. These bodies were later buried by the Indian armed forces, which was a significant humiliation for the Pakistani military.
A select group of senior military officers in Pakistan made the decision during May-July 1999 to initiate the Kargil conflict without the full confidence of then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The main objectives of the operation were to disrupt communication between Kashmir and Ladakh, block National Highway-1, and force the Indian army to retreat from the Siachen Glacier.
Conspirators believed that this operation would compel India to negotiate on Pakistan’s terms to resolve the Kashmir dispute
Potentially leading to a diplomatic solution. However, Pakistan faced international pressure, and China did not support Islamabad as expected. Even the efforts of then-Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz did not garner international support. At that time, General Musharraf was leading the operation, along with Chief of Army Staff General Aziz Khan, Commander of the 10th Corps Lieutenant General Mahmood Ahmed, and Northern Area Force Commander Major General Javed Hassan.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was aware of the initial stages of the incursion in 1999, but he did not anticipate its consequences. He may have assumed that if the operation succeeded, Pakistan would be hailed as the victor in Kashmir. However, due to his limited information about the plan and failure to assess India’s retaliatory aggressive strategy accurately, Sharif preferred to remain unaware of the unfolding events. According to Colonel Ashfaq Hussain, “The Kargil operation was a bigger blunder for Pakistan than the surrender in 1971.”