Former Pakistani military dictator Pervez Musharraf died in Dubai on Sunday after suffering from a prolonged illness.
In 2018, Musharraf was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare disease that causes abnormal proteins in the body to interfere with normal functioning.
Several incumbent leaders, including Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi, expressed their condolences.
I offer my condolences to the family of General (rtd) Pervez Musharraf. May the departed soul rest in peace!
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) February 5, 2023
Military Coup
After joining the army in 1964, Musharraf witnessed Pakistan’s 1965 and 1971 wars against India.
Erstwhile PM Nawaz Sharif appointed him as the head of the army in October 1998 despite two other military officers being higher in seniority. As the army chief, he witnessed Pakistan’s nuclear power tests in 1998, which were in response to India conducting similar tests.
Tensions between Sharif and Musharraf began to rise after the army chief’s plan to infiltrate Kashmir in 1999 caused the Kargil War and attracted Indian retaliation and international condemnation.
Sharif demanded the military to withdraw from the Pakistan-controlled areas, which did not sit well with Musharraf. In addition, Sharif removed Musharraf as the army chief while he was on a foreign tour to Sri Lanka and refused to allow his plane to land in Karachi.
Musharraf goes mostly unmourned in his country barring his family. He destroyed Pakistan’s democracy just when it maturing with an elected majority govt. Deaths if tens of thousands, incl soldiers from both sides are on his conscience. Worst of all dictators & the most vain too
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) February 5, 2023
Subsequently, in 1999, Musharraf ousted Sharif in a non-violent but significant military coup, with the army seizing control of government institutions and other critical infrastructure like airports.
In 2001, he conducted a referendum extending his dictatorship for five years and took the role of president. While the result was in his favour, several questions were raised about the validity of the vote as it was believed to be rigged by the military.
“Favourable” Leader for International Community
I was raised in an India where you are expected to speak kindly of people when they die. Musharraf was an implacable enemy &was responsible for Kargil but he did work for peace w/India, in his own interest, 2002-7. He was no friend but he saw strategic benefit in peace,as did we.
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 5, 2023
Several Western countries viewed him as a favourable leader, particularly given his overtly moderate social and political stands. He was celebrated as a relatively modern leader for calling for “enlightened moderation” amongst Pakistanis and enacting pro-gender rights and press freedom laws.
Moreover, his rise to power occurred few months before the 9/11 terror attack in Washington, following which he extended support to the US’ war on terror.
He also took a positive stand towards relations with India. At the SAARC summit in 2004, he released a joint statement with then-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on several issues, including Kashmir and terrorism. The statement featured a subtle acceptance that Pakistan was facilitating terrorism in India.
While international actors supported his leadership, several accusations of rights violations made their way through Pakistani circles. He was accused of curbing political dissent and arresting his opponents.
A 2013 Human Rights Watch report highlighted Mushrraf’s “widespread and serious human rights violation” during his tenure.
Musharraf’s Downfall
Musharraf suffered a setback after Pakistan witnessed a series of terrorist attacks under his leadership, including suicide bombings.
One of the critical incidents that ignited discontent amid the country’s elite was the army attack on the Red Mosque in July 2007.
Parvez Musharraf died, largely unlamented even in his own country. For all his faults & his troubling legacy, I will always remember him as the only Pakistani leader willing to meet & engage with mainstream Kashmiri leaders from India, much to the horror of Hurriyat leaders. pic.twitter.com/ZZ7JcM9L3X
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 5, 2023
After he openly extended support for the West’s war on terror, the Red Mosque was used as a site for Islamist leaders to promote an anti-Musharaff narrative, even calling for his assassination. Students from the mosque-run madrassas attacked a massage parlour claiming it to be a brothel and kidnapped nine people, including seven Chinese nationals.
The Islamist radical groups’ students and fighters also attacked Pakistani groups and arsoned the Ministry of Environment in Islamabad.
Facing pressure from the Chinese government, the army attacked the Red Mosque in the week-long “Operation Silence”, during which 102 people, including military personnel, were killed.
This heightened opposition against Musharraf, particularly from Islamist militant groups. It further resulted in the rise of the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban, which continues to threaten security across Pakistan to date.
Amid the rising criticism instigated by the series of security threats and political opposition, there were several attempts to assassinate Musharraf in 2003.
In October 2007, a suicide bomb attack on former PM Benazir Bhutto’s rally in Karachi killed 139. Two months later, in December, Bhutto was shot in a Taliban-led assassination attack in Rawalpindi. Musharraf was blamed for his failure to take adequate measures to ensure Bhutto’s security.
Exile and Death
Musharraf finally stepped down in August 2008 after a coalition initiated impeachment proceedings.
The former Pakistani president was sentenced to death after being convicted of treason in July 2009, after being in power for nine years. He was tried for treason for his decision to oust judges, particularly the Chief Justice of Pakistan, along with suspending the Pakistani Constitution in 2007.
“We brought Mujahideen from all over the world, we trained and armed the Taliban and sent them inside (Afghanistan), they were our heroes, the Haqqanis are our heroes, Osma Bin Laden was our hero.”
— Habib Khan (@HabibKhanT) February 5, 2023
— Former Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf pic.twitter.com/22KOjrB4L9
He was allowed to leave for Dubai on bail in 2016 to secure medical treatment, where he remained until his death. During his exile, he appealed his conviction and death sentence in Pakistan.
Finally, in January 2020, a special court declared the death sentence unconstitutional and overturned his conviction.