The biggest threat in recent times to peace and security in the South Asian region was averted by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's unexpected air dash across the Atlantic to make Uncle Sam a promise: that he would ask the militants fighting the Indian army from Pakistan's side of line of control (LoC) to withdraw. With that promise ended the over two months of fierce fighting at the LoC, fighting that had taken a heavy toll on lives and finances, and which had threatened to spill over onto other fronts, with possibly the worst scenario of all, an all-out nuclear war.
For some, the whole scenario had been like watching a game of 'chicken' being played by two horned billy goats facing each other head-on atop a narrow mountain path, gnashing their teeth and pawing the earth with their hooves before beginning to gallop towards each other. A collision would mean certain disaster as they would both be knocked off the mountain path and be dashed to pieces in the ravine below. Which goat then would stop first? In this case, it was Pakistan. But it is chilling to think how close both came to hurtling down that ravine.
The sense of relief that was widely felt by what some perceived as a demeaning step for Sharif to have taken, was, however, tempered by indignation at why such a crisis had been allowed to develop in the first place. There has also been a great deal of resentment at Sharif's unilateral style of governance.
Since the 'Kargil Agreement' as it has been dubbed, the extreme Right has been calling for Sharif's head, vowing that the jihad will continue, regardless of Pakistan's 'deal' with the USA, which they refuse to accept. They maintain that since Sharif was not in charge of the operation in the first place, he had no right to make any commitments on behalf of the mujahideen who were out there in the chilly mountain heights of Kargil, staking their lives for a righteous cause, facing the entire wrath of the Indian military.