New Delhi, June 29 :    New Delhi, June 29:  India?s refusal to bail Nawaz Sharif out of the Kargil mess may lead a desperate Pakistan to escalate tension along the LoC to ensure international attention and force Delhi to return to the talks table. Sharif?s special envoy Niaz Naik, who came here with a plea for a face-saver, returned with the firm message that further talks cannot be held until the intruders are withdrawn. Having failed to turn around Beijing, Sharif returned to Islamabad today, cutting short his visit. The Pakistani Prime Minister was to have stayed in China for six days. The Pakistani armed forces were put on maximum alert amid fears of escalation of tension along the LoC. This follows a late night meeting yesterday between Pakistani army chief General Pervez Musharraf and top military commanders at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi. Musharraf reportedly spoke to Sharif over telephone in China, which prompted the Pakistani Premier to truncate his trip. India still feels the Sharif government, under increased international pressure for its Kargil ?misadventure?, may have no other alternative but to withdraw the intruders very soon. However, the possibility of Pakistan trying to escalate tension to force international intervention on Kargil is not being ruled out either. With its back to the wall, the Pakistani leadership may try to get the world leaders to convene an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss Kargil by raising the spectre of a nuclear war. This may result in a resolution asking both India and Pakistan to return to the negotiations table and provide Islamabad with the face-saver it is desperately seeking. Contrary to what some Indian leaders believe, reports from Islamabad suggest that the Pakistani Prime Minister was aware of the military operations in Kargil and had even given his formal approval. The NationThe report claiming Sharif?s involvement may be a deliberate ploy to ensure that the Pakistani Prime Minister does not get an opportunity to distance himself from the army or strike a secret deal to end the conflict. Indian officials, while describing the situation in Pakistan as ?still very fluid?, pointed out that Sharif was ostensibly in charge and, therefore, cannot disown the responsibility of reining in the army generals and forcing them to agree to a withdrawal from Kargil. Any escalation of tension at this juncture on Pakistan?s part, they argued, can only bring more international pressure on it. In a development that indicates Washington?s refusal to bail out Pakistan unless it withdraws the intruders, Sharif?s proposed visit to the US for a summit-level meeting with President Bill Clinton appears to have run into rough weather. Contradicting an announcement made by General Musharraf, Pakistani foreign office spokesman Tariq Altaf said today that no programme for Sharif?s visit was being worked out by Islamabad.