'Nawaz Sharif believed Pakistan army would get him for Kargil war truce with India'

"Everyone was caught unawares. Hurried meetings were called, confidential internal memos dug up, and briefs developed to be able to lay down all the necessary ground work for the emergency high-octane meeting," he added.

Ahmad contended that the intervention of Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, then the Saudi Ambassador to the US, led to the meeting between Sharif and Clinton on July 4, a "sacrosanct" holiday for Americans. Prince Bandar also received Sharif when he arrived at Andrews Airbase on July 3.

"Bringing President Clinton to the table to bail Pakistan out of the imbroglio on that day was not, therefore, business as usual. It was made possible in the face of the real and immediate danger of an all-out war. Saudi intervention on Nawaz Sharif's SOS call made this possible," Ahmad wrote.

"And the man who could work this miracle was Prince Bandar Bin Sultan," he wrote.

Ahmad further contended that Musharraf's claim that Sharif had approved "Operation Badr" in Kargil "is not true".

Sharif was briefed about the Kargil operation for the first time around mid-May 1999, when a "lot had already happened".

"It was evident at that time that Gen Musharraf's unauthorised, illogical and non-strategic adventurism had pushed the situation to the precipice and a full-fledged war between two nuclear rivals was imminent," he wrote.

Ahmad wrote that Sharif's mission to Washington got a boost from Prince Bandar, an "inveterate networker" and "ultimate Washington insider who could walk into the White House

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