Hyderabad: India exposed to the world through its effective diplomacy that Pakistan was the aggressor in this conflict and nailed its lie and deceit in front of the International community and isolated Pakistan globally.
Once India knew about the Kargil intrusions the military and diplomatic elements of national power were brought to achieve the objective to corner Pakistan. Coupled with the Kargil tapes and documents and personal effects of Pakistani soldiers the Pakistani lies that they were not involved in intrusions was badly exposed in front of the International community. Pakistan’s claims of linking the intrusion to Kashmir issues were exposed. Its plans of internationalising the Kashmir conflict found no takers.
Pakistan tried to tell the international community that skirmishes in LOC was normal and tried to bring in India's presence in Siachen. Indian diplomats countered this strategy by explaining to the International community about the intricacies of the Loc and effectively conveyed to them that it's the Pakistani actions was an attack on India's sovereignty.
India also stressed that no responsible nuclear country possessing state had ever undertaken such provocative and dangerous action against a neighbouring nuclear weapon State.
Pakistan hoped major countries will side with it and would insist on an immediate ceasefire. Indian diplomacy ensured that instead of doing so, these important countries, especially the United States, leaned on Pakistan to withdraw from Kargil. India's decision to not to cross LOC showed India restraint to the World.
As General V.P. Malik highlights in his book, India’s Military Conflicts and Diplomacy, India’s goals with regard to the international community were:
- To convince the world that India was a victim of Pakistan’s aggression—the latter had violated the Simla Agreement.
- Demonstrate that the infiltrators were not militants but Pakistani Army regulars.
- Demonstrate ‘responsibility and restraint’ as a nuclear power that had recently caused a setback to the nuclear non-proliferation regime.
These goals were achieved by the Indian diplomatic corps and enabled by India’s restraint from crossing the LoC.
By the end of June, the U.S. government, the European Union, and the G-8 all threatened sanctions on Pakistan, if it did not withdraw to its side of the LoC. International pressure was building up. Even Pakistan’s traditional allies in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) chose to water down its resolutions against India. When Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif went to Washington, D.C. to meet President Bill Clinton on July 4, 1999, there was no international ally for Pakistan to turn to.
As General Pervez Musharraf later admitted in his book - In the Line of Fire, India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan diplomatically had worked and created a “demoralizing effect on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.” Sharif would eventually cave to Clinton’s pressure thus bringing the war to an end.
The key players in India's Diplomatic victory
- Vajpayee remained calm and unwaveringly focused on the objective of throwing out Pakistan from Kargil.
- National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra ensured that all Indian institutions worked harmoniously to achieve the national aim of defeating Pakistan in Kargil.
- External affairs minister Jaswant Singh led the diplomatic effort from the front.
- Foreign secretary K Raghunath, ever thoughtful, sharpened India’s diplomatic arguments to profile Pakistan’s irresponsibility.
