Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's ex-president, dies aged 79

Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's ex-president, dies aged 79

Pakistan's previous president General Pervez Musharraf, that took power in a successful stroke in 1999, has died aged 79.

The former leader - who was president between 2001 and also 2008 - died in Dubai after a long illness, a statement from the nation's military claimed.

He had endured various murder efforts, and located himself on the cutting edge of the battle between militant Islamists as well as the West.
He sustained the United States "battle on terror" after 9/11 in spite of domestic resistance.

In 2008 he suffered defeat in the surveys and left the nation six months later.

When he returned in 2013 to attempt to oppose the election, he was apprehended and also barred from standing. He was charged with high treason and was punished to fatality in absentia just for the decision to be overturned less than a month later on.

He left Pakistan for Dubai in 2016 to look for medical treatment and had actually been staying in expatriation in the nation since.

Obituary: Pervez Musharraf

Musharraf's love-hate relationship with India

Musharraf died in healthcare facility on Sunday morning. His body will certainly be flown back from the United Arab Emirates to Pakistan on a special trip after his family members sent an application to do so, regional TV network Geo News reports.

In the statement Pakistan's army expressed its "sincere acknowledgements" and included: "May Allah honor the departed soul and offer stamina to bereaved family."

Pakistan's Head of state Arif Alvi prayed "for eternal rest of the left spirit as well as courage to the bereaved family to birth this loss."

Pakistan's Head of state Shehbaz Sharif likewise shared his acknowledgements, as did the country's military leaders.
A career marred by conflict

Musharraf's regulation was characterised by extremes. He was credited by some with turning around the economic fortunes of the country while leader.

He was involved in a number of litigation following his loss of power, consisting of allegations of failing to give adequate safety and security for previous Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, whose murder by the Taliban in 2007 surprised Pakistan as well as the world.

As well as his job ultimately ended in shame and arrest, when he was sentenced to fatality in absentia for treason in 2019. Though that sentencing was later turned around, he never ever returned to Pakistan.
In spite of these events, Fawad Chaudhury, a former aide of Musharraf and also currently a senior leader of former Head of state Imran Khan's party, applauded Musharraf and the impact he had on Pakistan.

"He is called an armed forces dictator, yet there has actually never been a more powerful democratic system than that under him ... Pervez Musharraf led Pakistan at a very tough time, and also Pakistanis believe the period of his power was among the very best in Pakistan's background," Mr Chaudhury said in comments pointed out by Reuters.

However, the chief executive officer of Islamabad-based brain trust Tabadlab, Mosharraf Zaidi, claimed Musharraf was accountable for the "damage of Pakistan" throughout his regulation.

His time in power likewise split viewpoint in India.

Musharraf's participation while acting as the leader of the country's military in the Kargil conflict in Might 1999 - when Pakistani generals secretly purchased a procedure to inhabit elevations in Kargil on the Indian side - triggered several in India to view him as an adversary.

But in one Indian political leader's eyes, Musharraf redeemed himself throughout his presidency. "As soon as an implacable foe of India, he became a genuine pressure for tranquility 2002-2007," Shashi Tharoor, a former UN mediator, claimed.

Mr Tharoor said he met Musharraf every year in those years at the UN, and defined him as "smart, interesting and also clear in his calculated thinking".