When we travel back in time, the complete narrative of the fourth military takeover that occurred on October 12, 1999—now over 25 years ago—remains mostly unrecorded and obscured by the passage of time. Had the late general previously decided to oust the then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, or was he the one behind the final “coup”? He was so certain that Shehbaz Sharif would succeed his brother that, prior to the “takeover,” he extended his support to him. But the latter not only refused, but also told his brother about the military ruler’s plans.
It’s easy to conclude that while Nawaz had a reputation for having a hot-and-cold personality, after meeting with some of the key witnesses to the events of that tense day filled with “changing headlines,”His greatest error was substituting General Musharraf with General Jehangir Karamat, who was a former military ruler, rather than General Ali Kuli Khan.
In his new book, Saeed Mehdi, the former senior secretary to former PM Nawaz, provides a thorough explanation of the circumstances leading up to the October 12 putsch. He verified to this writer that Shehbaz had received Musharraf’s support in the event that the latter took the position of his brother and emerged as the party’s “Rahbar.”
