Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who took control in a bloodless coup and later persuaded Pakistan to support the American war in Afghanistan against the Taliban, has passed away, according to officials. He was 79.
Former special forces commando Musharraf was elected president in the most recent of several military takeovers that have rocked Pakistan since its establishment during the brutal 1947 Indian split. After his coup in 1999, he oversaw the nuclear-armed state despite tensions with India, a crisis involving atomic proliferation, and an uprising by Islamic extremists.
In 2008, while being considered for impeachment, he resigned.
Despite trying a political comeback in 2012, Musharraf afterward lived in self-imposed exile in Dubai to escape being charged with a crime.
But his declining health made his latter years hopeless, so it was not to be.
After escaping a violent death that seemed to be haunting him and was twice sought for assassination by Islamic terrorists, he kept the fatalistic outlook of a soldier.
Because fate and destiny have always smiled on me, Musharraf once stated, “I have faced death and defied it countless times in the past.” As the saying goes, I hope I have more than the cat’s nine lives.
In June 2022, Musharraf’s family revealed that he had spent weeks in a hospital in Dubai because of amyloidosis, an untreatable disorder in which proteins accumulate.
The family stated that the patient was “going through a challenging stage where healing is not feasible, and organs are malfunctioning.”
Later, they claimed he also needed access to the multiple myeloma medicine daratumumab. That amyloidosis can be brought on by bone marrow malignancy.
His death was verified by Shazia Siraj, a spokesman for the Pakistani Consulate in Dubai, who also stated that diplomats were supporting his family.
The military of Pakistan also expressed their sympathies.
A military statement prayed for Allah to “bless the departed soul and provide strength to the bereaved family.”
Shahbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, also expressed condolences in a brief remark.
God granted his family the strength to deal with this tragedy, and Sharif prayed.
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