Former Pakistan president, Pervez Musharraf, who was president between 2001 and 2008, has died aged 79 today, 5th February, 2023.
According to reports, the former leader died in a hospital in Dubai after a long battle with illness.
His body is expected to be flown back from Dubia to Pakistan on a special flight after his family have submitted an application to do so, according to a statement released by Pakistan’s military.
When he was president, he had survived numerous assassination attempts, and found himself on the front line of the struggle between militant Islamists and the West.
He supported the US “war on terror” after 9/11 despite domestic opposition.
In 2008 he suffered defeat in the polls and left the country six months later.
He was sentenced to death in absentia for treason in 2019. Though that sentencing was later reversed, he never returned to Pakistan.
Condolences kept pouring in from the leadership of Pakistan who expressed their sadness over his passing.
Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi prayed for eternal rest of the departed soul and courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed his condolences, as did the country’s military leaders.
Story: Hilda Katu