Journalism of Courage
Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf passed away Sunday after a prolonged illness at the age of 79 at a hospital in Dubai. He was undergoing treatment for an ailment at a hospital there. (Reuters)
Born in New Delhi in 1943, he was 4 years old when his family moved to Karachi during the Partition. He joined the army at the age of 18, and went on to lead an elite commando unit before rising to become its chief. (Reuters)
Musharraf then came to power after overthrowing Nawaz Sharif’s government in a military coup in 1999. He ruled Pakistan as its chief executive and then as president from 2002 to 2008. (AP Photo)
He is believed to have played a key role in the operation to invade Kashmir, bringing Pakistan and India to the brink of a full-fledged war in 1999. (AP Photo)
In 2008, Musharraf who was under a serious threat of impeachment from the country's governing coalition , announced his resignation from the office "in the interest of the nation.” He spent most of his time in self-imposed exile in the UK and the Middle East, before returning to contest in the 2013 Pakistan general elections. But he was barred from running for parliament in the only seat he had been approved to contest. (Reuters)
Musharraf visited Delhi for the Agra summit held from July 14-16, 2001 and met the Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The aim of the summit was to normalise relations between the two countries. However, it did not produce any positive outcome. (AP Photo)
Musharraf and his wife Sehba pose in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, on July 15, 2001. (Reuters)
In this July 14, 2001, photo, Pakistan's then President Pervez Musharraf with Anaro Devi, a municipal worker who recalls his childhood days, during his visit to 'Neharwali Haveli', ancestral home of Musharraf, in Darya Ganj in New Delhi. (PTI)
Musharraf was praised for reformist efforts in the early part of his regime as he pushed through legislation to protect the rights of women and allowed private news channels to operate for the first time. (AP Photo)
In this file photo, Pervez Musharraf receives his birth certificate from then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. (PTI)
He also became one of Washington’s most important allies after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and successfully lobbied then-president George W Bush to pour money into the Pakistani military. (AP Photo)
In 2016, Musharraf was allowed to leave the country on medical grounds, where he remained thereafter. In 2019, he was convicted charges of high treason and sentenced to death. The judgment was later reversed. (Reuters)
In this file photo from 2006, Pervez Musharraf with MS Dhoni during the ODI match played between India and Pakistan at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. (PTI)
In this file photo from 2005, Musharraf at the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah in Ajmer. (PTI)
