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By most estimates by high officials and experts the Indo-Pak conflict in Kargil sector that began during early May 1999 was not expected to be over before September. And the most convincing reason given for this prediction was not any military victory or defeat but the most inhospitable weather in this part of the Indo-Pak Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. With the coming of severe winter, it was said, the heavy snow would make it impossible to continue the fightingon-the-ground. However, contrary to all these predictions, this IndoPak conflict in Kargil ended much earlier, as early as in the middle of July 1999. And as the heat and dust of Kargil begins to settle down, most assessments about India's performance in this latest of its national security challenges, the sheer guts and perseverance of Indian soldiers fighting-on-the-ground is believed to be the most critical input that ensured India's military victory. But having said this, one must also concede a second position to the more-than-positive international response especially the ones from Washington and Beijing that proved to be the other important factor in compelling the Pakistani power elite to order an earlier-than- expected retreat which has since resulted in Pakistan's fourth successful military coup where Pakistan's former Chief of Army Staff, General Pervez Musharraf has since dismissed the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif and taken over as country's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
However, given the expected patriotic fervour, at least the initial comments and analysis had failed to give this international response its due credit. Also, whatever few commentaries were written on international response to Kargil conflict clearly focussed only on the Clinton-Sharif deal of 4 July 1999. No doubt, that formally it was this Clinton- Sharif deal that may have finally facilitated an honourable retreat for the Pakistani armed forces yet, looking at the factors that actually made this deal possible, it was China's continued posture of neutrality that seem to provide the most decisive input in convincing the Pakistani leadership on the futility of continuing to back-up its losing armed forces as also of seeking to internationalise Kashmir in the face of Pakistan's growing economic bankruptcy as also its increasing diplomatic isolation at the global scene. And, it is in this context...