Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf (2001-2008) has died in Dubai at the age of 79 after a long illness, the army announced on Sunday.
Military officials “express their sincere condolences on the death of General Pervez Musharraf,” according to a brief statement from the army’s press office.
“May Allah bless the soul of the deceased and give strength to the bereaved,” he added.
Musharraf, one of the United States’ allies in its “war on terror” following the September 11 attacks, came to power in a 1999 coup and remained in charge of Pakistan until 2008.
An admirer of Napoleon and Richard Nixon, he took office as president of the republic in 2001, the year of the September 11 attacks.
After these terrorist attacks, he aligned his country with Washington’s positions, presenting himself as a regional bulwark against Al Qaeda, whose leaders, allied with the Taliban, sought refuge in the areas bordering Afghanistan.
Musharraf has survived at least three attacks on al-Qaeda.
During its nine years in power, Pakistan has seen its economy boom, the middle class grow, the media liberalized and the military play its appeasement card with India.
Although, his opponents have repeatedly denounced his dominance in power, pointing to the “illegal” dismissal of Supreme Court judges, the declaration of a state of emergency or the bloody summer 2007 attack on heavily armed Islamists who had taken refuge in the Red Mosque in Islamabad.
Former elite commando, Pervez Musharraf, born in Delhi on 11 August 1943, four years before the separation of Pakistan, took command of the Army General Staff when he overthrew the civilian government of Nawas Sharif in October 1999, in a bloodless coup .
He proclaimed himself president in June 2001 before winning a controversial referendum in April 2002, making him Pakistan’s last military leader.
Source: DN
