As mentioned in the book, “When President Clinton met Sharif at Blair House (in July 1999), Clinton asked Sharif if he knew how advanced the threat of nuclear war really was? Did he know, for example that his military was preparing to use nuclear missiles?”

Deception: Pakistan, the United States and the Global Nuclear Weapons Conspiracy says , “Answering Clinton’s query, Sharif shook his head implying he was unaware of his military’s moves. Investigative journalists Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark have claimed, in their 586-page book, that while warning Sharif, the President said he had a statement ready for release that would pin all the blame for Kargil on Pakistan if the Prime Minister refused to pull his forces back.

The US President reminded Sharif that despite his promise to help bring Osama bin Laden to justice, the ISI had continued to work with bin Laden and the Taliban to foment terrorism and the Americans knew that. The Americans were unsure as to who was really in control in Islamabad, the authors said, as confusion prevailed over whether Sharif was in reality pushed into a war by General Pervez Musharraf, or he attempted to diminish his role in the crisis.  After his meeting with Clinton, Sharif briefly left the room to seek advice. When he returned, “he was getting exhausted. He denied that he had ordered the preparation of their missile force, said he was against war but was worried for his life in Pakistan”, the book said, quoting Bruce Riedel, who was at the National Security Council.

“Sharif went to his hotel for a nap. When they reconvened, Clinton placed the prepared statement on the table. Sharif left the room to read it to his advisers and returned ready to order a volte-face and call for his troops to withdraw back to the line of control”, Riedel said.