Sharif blamed the 1999 Kargil conflict on army chief Pervez Musharraf, who later ousted him from power, and repeated his past criticism of the focus on military spending.Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Tuesday reiterated his country's stance on US drone strikes saying they violate its sovereignty prior to his scheduled meeting with President Barrack Obama on Wednesday.He urged the United States to stop drone strikes in tribal areas of Pakistan 
bordering Afghanistan.The statement came the same day as release of a report by Amnesty International which said killing of Pakistanis in US-led drone strikes may amount to war crimes or extrajudicial executions.Sharif also vowed to go the “extra mile” to make peace with India, saying the historic rivals can resolve all issues through dialogue.The prime minister, addressing the US Institute of Peace in Washington, said that Pakistan “will not be found wanting in walking the extra mile” with India. He regretted that periodic incidents such as violence on the disputed border in Kashmir had set back peace attempts.“I wish to assure this august audience that Pakistan desires to live in peace with its neighbor. We would not be found wanting in walking the extra mile,” said the Pakistani premier.“If we sit down together, if we seriously address these issues, I don't think we will face any problem.”“Kashmir, of course, is a very difficult issue and very difficult to resolve but I think, by sitting and talking, we will be able to find some way of resolving that, too,” he said.“Because that is a flash point not only in the region, but the whole world,” he said of Kashmir.Sharif, who swept back to power in May, noted that he was involved in a major peace initiative with India in 1999 when his then counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Pakistan.The effort collapsed within months as Pakistan-backed forces infiltrated the Indian zone of Kashmir, which has been the source of two full-fledged wars between the nuclear powers.“Had our countries not wasted their precious resources in a never-ending arms race, we would not only have avoided the futile conflicts, but also emerged as stable and prosperous nations,” he said.
bordering Afghanistan.The statement came the same day as release of a report by Amnesty International which said killing of Pakistanis in US-led drone strikes may amount to war crimes or extrajudicial executions.Sharif also vowed to go the “extra mile” to make peace with India, saying the historic rivals can resolve all issues through dialogue.The prime minister, addressing the US Institute of Peace in Washington, said that Pakistan “will not be found wanting in walking the extra mile” with India. He regretted that periodic incidents such as violence on the disputed border in Kashmir had set back peace attempts.“I wish to assure this august audience that Pakistan desires to live in peace with its neighbor. We would not be found wanting in walking the extra mile,” said the Pakistani premier.“If we sit down together, if we seriously address these issues, I don't think we will face any problem.”“Kashmir, of course, is a very difficult issue and very difficult to resolve but I think, by sitting and talking, we will be able to find some way of resolving that, too,” he said.“Because that is a flash point not only in the region, but the whole world,” he said of Kashmir.Sharif, who swept back to power in May, noted that he was involved in a major peace initiative with India in 1999 when his then counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Pakistan.The effort collapsed within months as Pakistan-backed forces infiltrated the Indian zone of Kashmir, which has been the source of two full-fledged wars between the nuclear powers.“Had our countries not wasted their precious resources in a never-ending arms race, we would not only have avoided the futile conflicts, but also emerged as stable and prosperous nations,” he said.
