Islamabad, June 25: Describing President Pervez Musharraf as a "traitor", former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Shairf has said that he and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee "almost" decided on a deadline to resolve the Kashmir issue, but the process was sabotaged by the Pakistan military by staging Kargil conflict. In his first interview on record ever since he was exiled to Jeddah in 2000, Sharif said he along with Vajpayee had decided to resolve Kashmir issue peacefully through Lahore peace process.

"I can only say here that Vajpayee and myself had almost decided a deadline for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute," he told Pakistan's daily times from his exile.

"Vajpayee's visit to Lahore was a link in the chain. Had it not been for Kargil whereby all our plans were sabotaged, the issue of Kashmir would have reached an historical resolution long ago," he said. Asked what was the real story behind Kargil which lead to the military coup, Sharif said Kargil was "a skeleton in Musharraf's closet," while he took the public blame to save the army.

"All events in the aftermath of Kargil episode especially 12th October 1999 are inextricably linked. The true version of the misadventure of Kargil shall not remain a secret... The facts shall be brought before the public and all those responsible shall have to account for their deeds," he said.

"For the time being I can only say that i took everything on my shoulders to save our army from a major embarrassment," he said. Bureau Report