New Delhi, Aug. 7 -- Two months into the Kargil War, Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif determines to see with his eyes what his heart already suspects: that they're losing the battle. At Skardu base, he's received by Maj Gen Javed Hassan, who invites him to the officer's mess for a briefing. Sharif fixes with a stare and says, "The truth of democracy is revealed at the polling booth, and that of war in the hospital." The condition of the wounded and general despondency in the tent tells him all he needs to know. It prompts a rare act of rebellion and a covert trip to Washington.

It's rare that a Pakistan authority figure gets a moment like this in an Indian series. Operation Safed Sagar has already made clear that Sharif is a weak leader misled ...