Former Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, has died aged 79.
FEB 5: The former leader – who was president between 2001 and 2008 – died after a long illness, according to a statement from the country’s army.
He had survived numerous assassination attempts and was on the front lines of the fighting between militant Islamists and the West.
He supported America’s “war on terror” after 9/11 despite domestic opposition.
In 2008 he suffered defeat at the polls and left the country six months later.
When he returned in 2013 to try to contest the election, he was arrested and banned from running. He was accused of high treason and sentenced to death in absentia only to have the decision overturned less than a month later.
He left Pakistan for Dubai in 2016 to seek medical treatment and has been living in exile in the country ever since.
In the statement confirming the death, the army said it expressed its “sincere condolences” and added: “May Allah bless the soul of the deceased and give strength to the bereaved family.”
