Pervez Musharraf harmed cause of Kashmir the most: Pervaiz Rashid, Pakistani minister

ISLAMABAD: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf harmed the cause of Kashmir the most and the issue would have been solved by now if the former president had not overthrown a democratically-elected government in 1999, a Pakistani minister said today.

Musharraf, 71, took over in a coup in 1999 after the Kargil War, of which he is considered as the chief architect, months after the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Lahore for talks.

Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid told media yesterday that the military dictator had harmed the Kashmir cause the most.

"Kashmir issue would have been solved by now and Pakistan would not be facing energy crisis and terrorism, had Musharraf not overturned a democratic government in 1999," said Rashid, referring to the ouster of Nawaz Sharif by Musharraf.

He accused Musharraf of using the ISI intelligence agency to cobble up a political party which he termed as the 'political party of Aabpara', a reference to ISI headquarters in capital Islamabad.

To a question, he said that Kashmir was central issue with India and it was discussed during meeting of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Ufa, Russia.