Former Pakistan military ruler and President General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf passed away on Sunday at the age of 79, according to his family. He had been residing in Dubai for several years for medical treatment for multiple illnesses.
Musharraf was born on August 11, 1943, in New Delhi and moved to Karachi with his family after the independence of India in 1947. His father was a diplomat, so he lived in Turkey from 1949 to 1956. In 1961, he joined the Pakistan Army at the age of 18 and went on to lead the elite commando unit, the Special Services Group (SSG).
He married Sehba Musharraf in 1968 and had two children, a daughter named Ayla and a son named Bilal. In 1998, he was appointed as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and was promoted to the rank of four-star general. In 1999, he overthrew the Nawaz-led government and sent him into exile, serving as the COAS until 2007 when he became president.
After the 9/11 attacks, Musharraf made Pakistan an ally of the US in the war on terrorism. However, his use of military force to suppress dissent and his support for the US against Al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban ultimately led to his downfall. He allowed the US to operate armed drones from secret bases in Pakistan, which killed thousands, and ordered domestic troops into the country’s tribal areas along the Afghanistan border.
In his 2006 autobiography, “In the Line of Fire: A Memoir,” Musharraf credited himself with saving Pakistan from American wrath. He also successfully lobbied President George W. Bush to provide funding to the Pakistani military. In terms of foreign policy, he tried to normalize relations between New Delhi and Islamabad and came close to solving the issue of Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Under his rule, foreign investment increased and Pakistan experienced economic growth of up to 7.5% – the highest in nearly three decades, according to World Bank data. However, his later years as president were overshadowed by his increasingly authoritarian rule. In 2006, he ordered military action that led to the death of a tribal head from Balochistan, which sparked an ongoing armed insurgency. In 2007, he declared a state of emergency and postponed elections after protests arose from his attempts to control the judiciary.
In 2008, the country’s first democratic elections in 11 years were held and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) came to power. Musharraf resigned from the presidency and fled to London after his party lost the election and faced impeachment. In 2010, he announced the formation of his political party, the All-Pakistan Muslim League (APML) and returned to Pakistan in 2013 to participate in the general elections.
The PML-N government initiated a high treason case against Musharraf in 2014 for imposing a state of emergency in 2007. He was indicted in 2014 but rejected all charges. In 2016, he left Pakistan for Dubai for medical treatment and had his passport and identity card cancelled by the Supreme Court. In 2019, he was found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death by hanging.
Musharraf’s political party, the APML, discredited the treason verdict as politically motivated last year. He died at the American Hospital Dubai, where he had been receiving treatment for multiple diseases.
