Rift between Sharif amp; his army, says Mathur

NEW DELHI, JUNE 4: In attempting to defend Defence Minister George Fernandes8217; recent controversial statements on the Kargil crisis, Bharatiya Janata Party BJP spokesman J P Mathur has put his foot in his mouth.

Mathur told a television network on Thursday that there was quot;evidencequot; that there existed a rift between Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif and his army. Mathur said, this was clear from the fact that when Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee went to Lahore on the bus, he was not received by the three Pakistani service chiefs despite orders from Sharif.

However, the fact happens to be that the Pakistani service chiefs had called upon Vajpayee at the Governor8217;s residence in Lahore where he was staying, the same evening he arrived. The reason the chiefs didn8217;t go to the Wagah border, it is said, is because of protocol.