SONNA – Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf has died after a prolonged illness at a hospital in Dubai, military sources confirmed to Al Jazeera on Sunday. He was 79.
Musharraf, a four-star general, ruled Pakistan for nearly a decade after seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1999.
The former general was suffering from amyloidosis – a rare disease that causes organ damage. He had long been bedridden and wheelchair-bound.
In a brief statement released by the military’s media wing, senior military personnel expressed their “heartfelt condolences” on the demise of the former military ruler.
“May Allah (God) bless the departed soul and give strength to bereaved family.”
Musharraf, a former special forces commando, became president through the last of a string of military coups that roiled Pakistan since its founding amid the bloody 1947 partition of India.
He took power by ousting then prime minister, Nawaz Sharif after relations between the two leaders had deteriorated considerably.
Sharif had ordered Musharraf’s dismissal as the army chief flew home from a visit to Sri Lanka and denied his plane landing rights in Pakistan, even as it ran low on fuel. On the ground, the army seized control and after he landed Musharraf took charge.
He ruled the nuclear-armed state after through tensions with India, the War on Terror and an armed insurgency that left thousands of people dead. He stepped down in 2008 while facing possible impeachment.
Musharraf’s political party, launched in 2010, failed to win any significant seats in two subsequent general elections. He chose to live in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates after he was charged with treason in 2014.
Source: AlJazeera
