Islamabad:
Pervez Musharraf, the four-star general who ruled Pakistan for nearly a decade after seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1999, oversaw rapid economic growth and sought to instill social-liberal values in the conservative Muslim country.
Musharraf, 79, died in hospital after a long illness after years spent in self-imposed exile, Pakistani media reported Sunday. He enjoyed strong support for many years, his main threat being al-Qaeda and other militant Islamists who tried to assassinate him at least three times.
But his heavy-handed efforts by the military to quell dissent and his continued support for the United States in its fight against Al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban ultimately led to his downfall.
Born in New Delhi in 1943, Musharraf was four years old when his parents took part in the mass exodus of Muslims to the newly established state of Pakistan. His father served in the State Department, while his mother was a teacher and the family adhered to moderate, tolerant Islam.
He joined the army at the age of 18 and went on to lead an elite commando unit before rising to become its chief. He seized power by deposing the then Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, who had tried to sack him for giving the green light to an operation to invade areas of Jammu and Kashmir, leaving Pakistan and India on the brink of war came to stand.
In his early years of rule, Musharraf won international praise for his reform efforts, passing legislation to protect women’s rights and allowing private news channels for the first time.
His penchant for cigars and imported whiskey and his calls for Muslims to adopt a lifestyle of “enlightened moderation” increased his appeal in the West in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
He became one of Washington’s key allies after the attacks, allowing US forces to fly armed drones from secret bases on Pakistani soil, killing thousands, and for the first time in Pakistan’s history, domestic troops entering the lawless tribal areas of the land along the border with Afghanistan.
That helped legitimize his rule abroad, but also helped plunge Pakistan into a bloody war against local extremist militant groups.
In a 2006 memoir, he took credit for saving Pakistan from American wrath by saying the country had been warned to “be prepared to be bombed back to the Stone Age” if it did not unite with Washington .
Musharraf also successfully lobbied then-President George W. Bush to pour money into the Pakistani military. Yet the army’s loyalties were never unequivocal: its powerful intelligence agencies made deals with the Taliban and al Qaeda and supported an insurgency fighting US troops in Afghanistan.
In other areas of foreign policy, Musharraf attempted to normalize relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
At a regional summit in 2002, less than three years after the launch of the military operation against India, Musharraf shocked the world when, after finishing a speech, he suddenly walked over to shake hands with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and offered to talk about peace.
Analysts say the issue of Kashmir – which remains the most powerful bone of contention between India and Pakistan – was almost resolved during the Musharraf era. But the peace process quickly derailed after his reign.
Under Musharraf, foreign investment flourished and Pakistan experienced annual economic growth of a staggering 7.5 percent – still the highest level in nearly three decades, according to World Bank data.
However, the later years of his presidency were overshadowed by his increasingly authoritarian rule. In 2006, Mr. Musharraf ordered military action that killed a tribal chief from Balochistan province, laying the foundations for an armed insurgency that rages to this day.
The following year, more than 100 students calling for the imposition of sharia law were killed after Musharraf avoided negotiations and ordered troops to storm a mosque in Islamabad. That led to the birth of a new militant group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has since killed tens of thousands in suicide bombings and brutal attacks.
Later in 2007, a suicide bombing that killed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto sparked waves of violence. His efforts to strengthen the judiciary also sparked protests and a beleaguered Musharraf postponed elections and declared a state of emergency.
In 2008, the first democratic elections in 11 years were held. Musharraf’s party lost and faced impeachment by parliament. He resigned as president and fled to London.
He returned to Pakistan in 2013 to run for a seat in parliament but was immediately disqualified. He was allowed to leave for Dubai in 2016.
In 2019, a court sentenced him to death in absentia for imposing a state of emergency in 2007, but the sentence was later overturned.
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