Former president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday claimed that Indian business tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani’s intervention saved the life of Nawaz Sharif when he was ousted in a military coup in 1999.
According to details, Ambani made the startling claim at a function to release Marathi translation of MJ Akbar’s book. The former BJP president said that he requested the then US president Bill Clinton to save Sharif’s life as he was an “important friend”.
According to India media reports, Gadkari said that Ambani made the request at a meeting in Mumbai during Clinton’s visit to India in March 2000 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister.
Clinton and his delegation also had a formal event at the Mumbai Stock Exchange at which Gadkari was present as the leader of opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council.
Before that programme, Dhirubhai met Clinton and requested him to use his good relations with Musharraf to save Sharif’s life, for it was feared that Musharraf would get rid of Sharif how Ziaul Haq got rid of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
After his visit to India, Clinton went to Pakistan where apparently he secured a pardon for Sharif’s life after discussions with Musharraf.
“He even conveyed this to Dhirubhai,” Gadkari claim. Thereafter, Sharif was exiled from Pakistan and offered asylum in Saudi Arabia.