Friday, July 14 2006 12:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif was given an advance briefing in early 1999 on the 'Kargil issue', President Pervez Muharraf said, repudiating claims by the former that he had been kept in the dark then about it.

Musharraf said Sharif attended a briefing on Kargil on Feb 5, 1999, in the Kel sector. He rejected as false the former prime minister's claim that he came to know about it from his Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee, reported Online news agency.

In an interview with Business Plus TV channel Thursday evening, Musharraf also showed pictures saying they were taken on that day and prove that Sharif was in the know about Kargil.

Sharif had claimed that he had come to know about Kargil from Vajpayee during the latter's visit to Lahore on Feb 19.

"Look at these pictures. In one of these pictures, I am receiving him (Nawaz Sharif) in another, he is being briefed by Commander Mehmood, who later became director general, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), while in another picture he is addressing the troops," said the president.

Why had Sharif gone to Kel during heavy snow, asked Musharraf. A prime minister is not worth his salt if he is being informed about such issues by his Indian counterpart, he commented.

Musharraf said such issues are of utmost national importance and extremely confidential and Sharif should exercise caution in his comments.

India and Pakistan fought a war over Kargil during May-July 1999.

In response to a question on former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, he said under the law neither can become prime ministers for the third time.

As far as their participation in the 2007 general election is concerned, Musharraf said this was for the Election Commission to decide.

He also expressed the hope that progressive forces would join in defeating retrogressive forces in 2007 year of the very important elections, which he vowed would be fair, transparent and impartial.

He said the general election would be vital in the face of forces that are pro-extremism.

"It will be a transparent and fair election," he said, adding that it would be for the first time that the elected assemblies would complete their five-year term.

Musharraf again expressed grief over the July 11 serial train bombings in India's commercial capital Mumbai in which around 200 were killed and over 700 injured.

Condemning the blasts, Musharraf said that Pakistan was ready to extend full cooperation to India in this connection.

On the issue of disgraced nuclear scientist A.Q Khan, Musharraf stated that no foreigner would be allowed to interrogate the scientist. Only Pakistani investigators will look into any evidence brought to the country's notice on the matter.

Pakistan, he said, has done more than any other in counter-terrorism and hundreds of its soldiers have embraced martyrdom in the fight against the menace.

The president said that with the improved macro-economic stability, the government was focusing on poverty reduction and employment generation and on curbing inflation.

He said poverty has declined from 34 percent to 25 percent in Pakistan, and hoped the country would realise the target of 15 percent by 2015 set under the UN Millennium Development Goals.