General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was the fourth military leader of Pakistan, who rose to power in 1999 by toppling the Nawaz Sharif-led government in a coup d'etat. He remained the longest-serving president of Pakistan until forced to step down in 2008.
When out of power, the former president was charged with high treason by a court in 2014 and sentenced to death in absentia in 2019. However, a year later, the death sentence was overturned by a high court.
The News provides a timeline of the highlights of his life.
1943 – Pervez Musharraf was born on August 11, 1943, in Delhi, British India, to Urdu speaking parents who later migrated to Pakistan.
1961 – He joined the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul.
1998 – The soldier was promoted to general and appointed the chief of army staff by then prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
1999 – Musharraf removed Sharif’s government in a bloodless coup, before announcing a state of emergency and suspending the constitution.
2001 – The army chief declared himself the president of Pakistan.
2002 – Musharraf reinstated the constitution but added a provision that gave him legal cover to stay president for another five years. The same year, a controversial parliamentary election was held in Pakistan under Musharraf’s military rule.
2003 – General (retd) Musharraf survived two separate assassination attempts by terrorists.
2007 – He sacked the then chief justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, initiating a country-wide protest movement. The same year, Musharraf’s rivals, Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, returned from exile to contest the scheduled election. Musharraf imposed a state of emergency and suspended the constitution once again.
2008 – Musharraf’s parliamentary party lost the national polls, forcing him to resign to avoid impeachment. He then left the country for the United Kingdom.
2010 – He launched his own political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League.
2013 – The retired general returned to Pakistan to contest the general election.
2014 – He was charged with high treason.
2016 – Musharraf is allowed to travel to Dubai in order to seek medical attention overseas. He never returned to Pakistan.
2019 – A special court found Musharraf guilty of high treason and sentenced him in absentia to death.
2020 – A high court suspended the sentence awarded to Musharraf.
2022 – Reports were circulated of his death, however, they were denied by his party APML. The party had confirmed that he was being treated for amyloidosis.
February 5, 2023 – Musharraf passed away at the age of 79 in Dubai.
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