Former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf passes away
2 min read . Updated: 05 Feb 2023, 12:15 PM IST
Premium- Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf passed away at 79 in a Dubai hospital
Former president of Pakistan and Army chief Pervez Musharraf passed away at a private hosptal in Dubai, The former general had been admitted to the American Hospital, Dubai.
Musharraf died after a long illness after spending years in self-imposed exile.
Musharraf was a four-star general who ruled Pakistan for nearly a decade after seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1999.
He enjoyed strong support for many years, his greatest threat al Qaeda and other militant Islamists who tried to kill him at least three times.
But his heavy-handed use of the military to quell dissent as well as his continued backing of the United States in its fight against al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban ultimately led to his downfall.
About Pervez Musharraf's personal life
He was born in New Delhi in 1943. He was only 4 years old when his family moved to Pakistan in 1947. is father served in the foreign ministry, while his mother was a teacher and the family subscribed to a moderate, tolerant brand of Islam.
He joined the army at the age of 18 and went on to lead an elite commando unit before rising to become its chief. He took power by ousting the then-prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who had tried to sack him for greenlighting an operation to invade Indian-held areas of Kashmir.
His penchant for cigars and imported whisky and his calls for Muslims to adopt a lifestyle of "enlightened moderation" increased his appeal in the West in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks in the US.
He became one of Washington’s most important allies after the attacks, allowing US forces to operate armed drones from secret bases on Pakistani soil that killed thousands and ordering domestic troops into the country’s lawless tribal areas along the Afghanistan frontier for the first time Pakistan’s history.
That helped legitimise his rule overseas but also helped plunge Pakistan into a bloody war against local extremist militant groups.
Musharraf also lobbied then-President George W. Bush to pour money into the Pakistani military.
Under Musharraf, foreign investment flourished and Pakistan saw annual economic growth of as much as 7.5% - which remains the highest level in nearly three decades, according to World Bank data.
The later years of his presidency were, however, overshadowed, by his increasingly authoritarian rule. In 2006, Musharraf ordered military action that killed a tribal head from the province Balochistan, laying the foundations of an armed insurgency that rages to this day.
The next year, more than a hundred students calling for the imposition of Sharia law were killed after Musharraf shunned negotiations and ordered troops to storm a mosque in Islamabad. That led to the birth of a new militant group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has since killed tens of thousands in suicide bombings and brazen assaults.
Later in 2007, a suicide attack that assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, triggered waves of violence. His efforts to strong-arm the judiciary also led to protests and a besieged Musharraf postponed elections and declared a state of emergency.
In 2008, the country's first democratic elections in 11 years were held. Musharraf's party lost and facing impeachment by parliament he resigned from the presidency and fled to London.
He returned to Pakistan in 2013 to run for a seat in parliament but was immediately disqualified. He was allowed to leave for Dubai in 2016.
In 2019, a court sentenced him to death in absentia for the 2007 imposition of emergency rule but the verdict was later overturned.
