Former president Pervez Musharraf passes away in Dubai

DUBAI: Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf has passed away in Dubai at the age of 79 after a prolonged illness, his family confirmed on Sunday.

The former military ruler had been undergoing treatment for an ailment at an American Hospital in Dubai.

The 79-year-old former president and chief of army staff had been suffering from amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body.

Condolences pour in

President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep grief and sorrow over the death of the former military chief.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) expressed heartfelt condolences over the sad demise of former army chief. “May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to 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.

PTI leader and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry said Musharraf was a “great person” whose ideology was to always keep Pakistan the first.

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Born on August 11, 1943, in Delhi, British India, the former president’s family moved to Karachi in 1947.

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Pervez Musharraf got his commission from the Pakistan Military Academy Kakul on April 19, 1961. He joined the Pakistan Army in 1964 and was a graduate of the Army Staff and Command College, Quetta.

Musharraf took over as the chief of army staff (COAS) in 1998. A year later on October 12, 1999, Gen (retd) Musharraf seized power in a coup after the then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif tried to dismiss him as army chief.

The four-star general served as the president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Musharraf resigned as the president on August 18, 2008, following a movement led by the political parties.

The former military ruler left the country in March 2016 for Dubai to seek medical treatment and didn’t return to Pakistan since.

On March 30, 2014, he was indicted for suspending the Constitution on November 3, 2007. On December 17, 2019, a special court handed Musharraf death sentence in the high treason case against him.