Pervez Musharraf, the former president of Pakistan, passed away on Sunday in a Dubai hospital after a protracted illness. He had spent years in self-imposed exile.
The former army leader, 79, who was forced from office in 2008, passed away, according to Pakistan’s military and the nation’s envoy in the United Arab Emirates.
“I can confirm that he passed away this morning,” Shazia Siraj, spokesperson for Pakistan’s consulate in Dubai and embassy in Abu Dhabi, told Reuters.
The chiefs of Pakistan’s army, navy and air force expressed condolences on his death, the public relations wing of the military said. President Arif Alvi expressed condolences in a statement.
A special flight will be made to Dubai on Monday to bring Musharraf’s body back to Pakistan for burial, local TV channel Geo News reported.
The former four-star general, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, oversaw rapid economic growth and attempted to usher in socially liberal values in the conservative Muslim country.
Musharraf enjoyed strong support for many years, his greatest threat al Qaeda and other militant Islamists who tried to kill him at least three times.
But his heavy-handed use of the military to quell dissent as well as his continued backing of the United States in its fight against al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban ultimately led to his downfall.
Allowed abroad for medical treatment even as he faced a treason case in Pakistan, Musharraf last flew to Dubai in 2016.