Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s ex-president, dies aged 79
The former president, who served as president from 2001 to 2008, died after a long illness, according to a statement from the country's army.
KATHMANDU: General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former president who seized power in a coup in 1999, died at the age of 79.
The former president, who served as president from 2001 to 2008, died after a long illness, according to a statement from the country’s army.
He’d survived multiple assassination attempts and found himself on the front lines of the conflict between militant Islamists and the West.
Despite domestic opposition, he supported the US “war on terror” after 9/11.
He was defeated in the polls in 2008 and left the country six months later.
When he returned in 2013 to run for office, he was arrested and barred from running. He was charged with high treason and sentenced to death in absentia, only to have the decision reversed a month later.
He fled Pakistan in 2016 for medical treatment in Dubai, where he has been living in exile ever since.
The military expressed its “heartfelt condolences” in a statement confirming the death, adding, “May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to the bereaved family.”
