Former President of Pakistan and Army chief Pervez Musharraf passed away at a private hospital in Dubai. He was 79.
Musharraf had been undergoing treatment for amyloidosis – a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues – reports in the Pakistan media said.
Musharraf was in self-imposed exile in Dubai since March 2016 and was facing a treason case for suspending the Constitution in 2007. He was also declared a fugitive in cases related to the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the siege of the Lal Masjid.
Coming to power after a military takeover of the Nawaz Sharif government in 1999, Musharraf served first as ‘Chief Executive’, before going on to become Pakistan’s tenth president in June 2001. He stepped down in August 2008 after facing a possible impeachment.
Musharraf’s family announced in June 2022 that he was hospitalised with amyloidosis. “Going through a difficult stage where recovery is not possible and organs are malfunctioning,” their statement said.
The chiefs of Pakistan’s army, navy and air force expressed condolences on his death, Reuters quoted the public relations wing of the military as saying. Geo News reported that a special flight on Monday will bring the body home from Dubai for burial.
Born in New Delhi in 1943, Musharraf was four years old when his family migrated to Pakistan. He attended school in Ankara and Karachi and university in Lahore.
He joined the Pakistan army in 1961 at the age of 18, took part in the India-Pakistan wars in 1965 and 1971, and was over the years promoted to the rank of a four-star general.
Musharraf was widely seen as the chief architect of the infiltrations that led to the Kargil War of 1999, shortly after India and Pakistan signed the Lahore Declaration.