Pervez Musharraf: Former Pakistan president dies after long illness

Army general held office for seven years

Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has died in Dubai, aged 79, after a long illness, the army said on Sunday.

Senior military chiefs "express heartfelt condolences on sad demise of General Pervez Musharraf", a brief statement released by the military's media wing said. "May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to bereaved family."

Mr Musharraf, a four-star general who ruled Pakistan for nearly a decade after assuming power in 1999, spent his final years in self-imposed exile.

He passed away on Sunday morning, a representative for Pakistan's embassy in the UAE confirmed.

His body will be repatriated from Dubai on Monday, Pakistan's Geo TV reported.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered his condolences to Mr Musharraf's family in a short statement.

"May the departed soul rest in peace," he wrote on Twitter.

Leaders of the Pakistani Senate have also expressed their "deep sorrow and grief", while UAE rulers also sent their sympathies.

President Sheikh Mohamed sent a cable of condolences to President Arif Alvi over the death of Mr Musharraf.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, also sent his condolences.

In India, former diplomat and MP Shashi Tharoor said Mr Musharraf had been vital in stabilising relations between the two countries, which have fought four conflicts since their partition in 1947.

"Once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007. I met him annually in those days at the UN and found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP," Mr Tharoor wrote on twitter.

Mr Musharraf held the presidency from 2001 until 2008, when he resigned in order to avoid impeachment after suspending the constitution and imposing a state of emergency in 2007.

He survived several assassination attempts during his time in office.

His family revealed in 2018 that he had been diagnosed with Amyloidosis, a rare disease that is caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues. He had travelled to Dubai two years earlier to seek medical treatment.

The former president was hospitalised in June last year, when his family said his recovery from the condition was "not possible".

Mr Musharraf assumed power after ousting then prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who later backed Mr Musharraf's potential return to Pakistan when his health deteriorated.

He was a key US ally in the "war on terror" following the 9/11 attacks and allowed Washington access to Pakistani airspace and supply lines to fight the Taliban despite domestic opposition.

“General Musharraf faced many challenges but of them the three crises he navigated with much prudence were the aftermath of 9/11, the year-long Indian military mobilisation on the border with Pakistan and the AQ Khan affair," said Maleeha Lodhi, who served as Pakistan's ambassador to the US between 1999 and 2002.

Abdul Qadeer Khan, better known as AQ Khan, was known as the "father of Pakistan's atomic bomb" and was dismissed from his role as a senior government scientific adviser by Mr Musharraf after the US accused him of selling nuclear secrets to Iran and North Korea.

In 2019, Mr Musharraf was found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death in absentia for his imposition of emergency rule in 2007.

The sentence was quashed a month later after being deemed unconstitutional by Lahore's high court.

"He is called a military dictator, but there has never been a stronger democratic system than that under him," said Fawad Chaudhry, a former aide to Mr Musharraf and a senior leader of the Tehreeik-e-Insaf party.

"Pervez Musharraf led Pakistan at a very difficult time, and Pakistanis believe the era of his reign was one of the best in Pakistan's history," he said in a video message.

"He gave Pakistan a free media and he stressed on diversity of opinion in Pakistan. Pervez Musharraf, we will miss you."