General Pervez Musharraf, the former leader of Pakistan who overthrew the government in a coup in 1999, has passed away at the age of 79.
According to a statement from the nation’s army, the former leader, who served as president from 2001 and 2008, passed away after a protracted illness.
He was on the front lines of the conflict between militant Islamists and the West after surviving many murder attempts.
After 9/11, he backed the US “war on terror” despite domestic resistance.
He lost the election in 2008, and six months later he departed the country.
He tried to run for office again in 2013 but was detained and prevented from doing so. He was charged with high treason and given a death sentence in absentia, but less than a month later, the ruling was overturned.
In order to receive medical attention, he traveled from Pakistan to Dubai in 2016 and has since been living in exile there.
In the statement confirming the death, the military said it expressed its “heartfelt condolences” and added: “May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to bereaved family.”
Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi prayed “for eternal rest of the departed soul and courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss”, his office said in a statement cited by AFP news agency.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed his condolences, as did the country’s military leaders.