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Pakistan's ex-president, Pervez Musharraf dies aged 79
Former president of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, has died aged 79. He died in Dubai after a long illness, a statement from the country's army said. He left Pakistan for Dubai in 2016 to seek medical treatment and had been living in exile in the country ever since.
The former President died in hospital on Sunday morning. As per reports, his body will be flown back from the UAE to Pakistan on a special flight after his family submitted an application to do so. In a statement release by Pakistani military, they expressed their condolences saying, “May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to bereaved family.”
Current President of Pakistan Arif Alvi said that he 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.
Musharraf was embroiled in a number of court cases following his loss of power, including accusations of failing to provide adequate security for former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, whose assassination by the Taliban in 2007 shocked Pakistan and the world.
His career ultimately ended in disgrace and arrest, when he was sentenced to death in absentia for treason in 2019. Though that sentencing was later reversed, he never returned to Pakistan.