Former military dictator Pervez Musharraf passes away in Dubai

He was said to be suffering from an ailment called ‘Amyloidosis’.

Senior military chiefs “express heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of General Pervez Musharraf”, a brief statement released by the military’s media wing said. “May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to the bereaved family.”

The retired four-star general died at a hospital in Dubai on Sunday morning, according to media reports and a senior security official who spoke to AFP.

“I can confirm that the late general breathed his last in Dubai this morning … He is no more,” the official, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

A special aircraft is set to fly to Dubai on Monday morning to repatriate the remains of the former president.

The family of the late former president had applied to the Pakistan consulate in Dubai to transport his body back to Pakistan.

The aircraft, departing from Noor Khan Airbase, will land at Al Maktoum Airport in Dubai on Monday morning.

Sources say Musharraf is set to be buried in the army graveyard in Rawalpindi.

Musharraf seized power in 1999 in a bloodless coup after the then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif tried to dismiss him as army chief, having appointed him above more senior officers a year earlier.

In more than seven years in office, he oversaw a stint of economic growth while dodging at least three assassination attempts.

Musharraf won a five-year term as president in a 2002 referendum, but reneged on promises to quit as army chief until late 2007.

His easygoing charm also failed to mask the blurring of the division between the state and army, and he fell out of favour after trying to sack the chief justice.

After the December 2007 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the national mood soured even more and crushing losses suffered by his allies in 2008 elections left him isolated.

Musharraf’s plan to return to power in 2013 was dashed when he was disqualified from running in an election won by Nawaz Sharif – the man he deposed in 1999.

In 2016 a travel ban was lifted and Musharraf flew to Dubai to seek medical treatment.

Three years later, he was sentenced to death in absentia for treason, related to his 2007 decision to impose emergency rule. However, a court later nullified the ruling.

Meanwhile, Musharraf’s mother is reported to be resting comfortably in Dubai while his father was laid to rest in Karachi.

Timeline

• 1943 – Pervez Musharraf was born in Delhi, India.
• 1964 – He gets a commission from Pakistan Military Academy Kakul.
• 1965 – Musharraf participates in the war between India and Pakistan.
• 1971 – Musharraf participates in the Bangladesh War.
• 1998 – General Musharraf becomes Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and leads a military operation in Kargil, India.
• 1999 – General Musharraf overthrows the elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup and assumes the presidency.
• 2001 – General Musharraf joins the US-led coalition against terrorism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and provides support for the US-led war in Afghanistan.
• 2002 – General Musharraf implements a series of reforms aimed at modernizing Pakistan’s economy and strengthening its institutions.
• 2007 – General Musharraf suspends the Chief Justice of Pakistan, leading to widespread protests and calls for his resignation.
• 2008 – General Musharraf resigns from the presidency after facing growing pressure from the opposition and the military.
• 2010 – General Musharraf returns to Pakistan and announces his intention to run for the presidency, but is disqualified by the courts.
• 2013 – General Musharraf again returns to Pakistan after living in self-exile for several years and faces a number of legal challenges related to his time in power.
• 2018 – General Musharraf is placed under house arrest and faces charges related to the 2007 suspension of the chief justice.
• 2023 – General Musharraf passes away in Dubai.