The 1999 war between Indian and Pakistani military forces was unique in a way. The militaries of two nations often at loggerheads were fighting in one district, Kargil, alone. The Indian Air Force (IAF) participated in a limited role in operations called Safed Sagar but conspicuously absent was participation of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) into hostilities.
Why and how did it happen that the PAF did not get involved and entangled into these hostilities? Well, this happened as it is said that the then PAF chief Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi refused to allow the use of his force in this conflict. Qureshi advised Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to find a way to de-escalate as this India-Pakistan war had been orchestrated by Pakistan Army chief General Pervez Musharraf. Qureshi said Musharraf had not confided in the PAF top brass nor did even many top Pak Army Generals know about his plans!
Of course, it is often said that Musharraf had presented a fait accompli to Mian Sharif wriggling out of which was virtually impossible. In July 1999, when Sharif went to Washington to request US President Bill Clinton to intervene, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was firm that the question of ceding any territory to Pakistan was out of question, irrespective of the costs. This firm message was conveyed to other nations also and the Northern Light Infantry (NLI) men who were leading the battle on Pakistani side got little support from thereon.
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Incidentally, Air Chief Marshall Parvaiz Qureshi headed the PAF during Kargil war when General Pervez Musharraf headed the Pakistan Army. As you speak their names, they sound almost same, just a minor difference of some letters in English spellings. But in character, they were temperamentally as different as chalk and cheese! Incidentally, at one time they were batchmates as also roommates. Their third roommate was Aziz Mirza who also rose to be the chief of the force he joined, remaining Pakistan Navy chief for some years.
In fact, Mirza became the Pak Navy chief after Admiral Fasih Bokhari resigned in protest against an appointment to the top posts. Not only this, Bokhari had at one time said that an inquiry commission should be set up and the entire Kargil episode looked into! Admiral Fasih Bokhari had openly protested against Sharif’s decision to appoint Musharraf as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. He was senior to Musharraf in service and did not
When Sharif decided to ignore Bokhari’s protests, he resigned voluntarily and gave up the command of Pakistan Navy. Like Qureshi, Admiral Bokhari was also opposed to the misadventure that Musharraf had embarked upon leading to a war between the two neighbouring nations.
It seems like a fairytale story that three young men shared a room, got selected in different branches of Pakistan armed forces and then rose all the way to the top. They headed the Pak Army, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the Pak Navy around the same time! But we will let that pass.
By all accounts, Qureshi had a life-long friendship with Musharraf but differed so much that he did not allow PAF to join the Kargil war! Qureshi is reported to have told Sharif that Musharraf was impulsive and should not be given any backing for his misadventure of occupying Indian territories in Kargil district.
Incidentally, in the 1971 war with Pakistan, Qureshi was taken prisoner by the Indian Army after his aircraft was shot down on November 22, 1971, over five decades ago! In fact, Qureshi was the first Pakistani PoW in the 1971 war.
