Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf passes away at 79
DUBAI – Former military ruler and President Pervez Musharraf has passed away on Sunday at American Hospital in UAE after a prolonged illness.
The former four-star general was suffering from the disease Amyloidosis. He was hospitalised for a couple of months due to a complication of his ailment.
Earlier, it was reported that arrangements were in order to shift the country’s ailing former military leader to his homeland after his self-imposed exile, however he could not make it and breathed his last in UAE.
Reports suggest that a plane will land in UAE on Monday to take back the remains of the former president to Pakistan. A special jet from Noor Khan Airbase will fly to Dubai’s Al-Maktoom airport.
Earlier in the day, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) condoled his death. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad and all the services chiefs have expressed heartfelt condolences, the military’s media wing said.
Following the news, #PervezMusharraf started trending on Twitter with people from all walks of life sharing their thoughts about the former military ruler.
“May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to the bereaved family,” the military’s media wing said.
In a series of tweets, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani expressed deep sorrow over the former president’s death and extended condolences to the grieving family.
Musharraf was the tenth president of the South Asian nation. He served as the 10th CJCSC from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th top general from 1998 to 2007.
Musharraf seized power with a military coup in 1999, deposing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and later declared himself president and went on to rule the fifth most populous country until he stepped down to avoid impeachment by the new parliament in 2007.
In 2019, a Pakistani court sentenced him for treason over his 2007 imposition of emergency rule.
The ruling was however overturned by a court in the long-running case.
The former dictator had been living in the Emirates for the last seven years when he was allowed to travel on medical grounds while being tried on treason charges. He will be remembered as a controversial figure in the history of Pakistan, but some of his efforts will be remembered forever.