Lahore: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif underlined the importance of having good relations with India and said that his government was ousted in 1999 because he opposed the Kargil war, The News International reported on Saturday.

Nawaz said that PML-N always performed well but was always ousted from power. “I want to know why my governments were overthrown in 1993 and 1999. Was it because we opposed the Kargil war,” he questioned.

Nawaz Sharif was the Prime Minister of Pakistan when his government was overthrown in a coup d’etat on October 12, 1999. The coup was incited by those who seized control of the civilian government.

“When it comes to our country, we do not back down. And today, no one has the courage to attack Pakistan [because of nuclear arsenal],” said Nawaz. “We have performed on economic, defence, and foreign fronts.”

While addressing his party’s parliamentary board meeting in Lahore, he reiterated the need to improve relations with India as well as Afghanistan, Iran and China.

He said, “During my time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Pakistan.”

The PML-N supremo also vowed to hold those accountable who ruined the country.

“The country was thriving from 2013 to 2017 and the economy was better, however, good people were thrown out and Pakistan was handed to clumsy people.”

This was the second instance since his return to Pakistan in October after a self-imposed four-year exile that Nawaz openly voiced in favour of holding the perpetrators of his ouster accountable, The News International reported.

A day earlier, while speaking to the PML-N ticket aspirants, he blamed former generals and judges for lodging false cases against him.

The News International reported that recalling his 2013 election campaign, Nawaz said that he was asked [by the party leaders] to assure the nation that loadshedding would end in six months, however, he refused to lie.

“I said, I wouldn’t say anything that might damage my reputation. I had said in the election campaign that loadshedding will end within five years as I don’t want to cheat the nation,” he said.

Nawaz further said that his party is giving tickets for the upcoming general elections — set to take place on February 8 next year — to work for the development of the country.