Pervez Musharraf, who backed the US invasion of Afghanistan, was buried at a cemetery in Karachi with ‘navy honours’.
Islamabad, Pakistan – Former Pakistani navy ruler Pervez Musharraf, who backed the US’ invasion of Afghanistan following the 9/11 assaults, has been buried at a cemetery within the southern metropolis of Karachi with “full navy honours”.
Musharraf died of extended sickness on Sunday at age 79 in Dubai, the place he had been residing since 2016. He was affected by amyloidosis, a uncommon illness that causes organ harm.
Tahir Hussain, a spokesperson for Musharraf’s political occasion All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), stated the previous president’s funeral was attended by former military chiefs, senior navy officers, and political figures.
“Not too long ago retired military chief Common Qamar Javed Bajwa, former chiefs [Mirza] Aslam Beg, Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, in addition to former chief of Inter-Companies Intelligence Common [Ahmad] Shuja Pasha had been all in attendance within the funeral prayer,” Hussain informed Al Jazeera.
Hussain stated that an estimated 3,000-4,000 individuals attended the funeral prayers on the Malir navy cantonment regardless of strict safety. Musharraf’s physique was then taken to the military graveyard 20km (12 miles) to the southwest for burial.
Ishaq Khan Khakwani, a former state minister below Musharraf’s rule, who additionally attended the funeral, stated individuals belonging to all walks of life had been current.
Joined so-called ‘warfare on terror’
Musharraf’s physique was introduced again to Pakistan on Monday night time on a particular flight, accompanied by his spouse Sehba, and his two youngsters Bilal and Ayla.
Musharraf was handpicked by then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as chief of Pakistan’s military in 1998. However he seized energy a 12 months later in a cold coup after Sharif tried to take away him as the military chief.
Underneath Musharraf’s tenure, Pakistan grew to become a key US ally and joined its so-called “warfare on terror” after the lethal assaults on September 11, 2001.
The previous navy ruler’s nine-year tenure is remembered for gross human rights violations within the South Asian nation. He additionally allowed the US to hold out air raids in Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
He resigned as the military chief in 2007 to develop into president. The identical 12 months, Musharraf imposed a state of emergency within the nation to suppress large, nationwide protests towards his rule.
In December of 2007, considered one of his primary critics, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated in an assault within the metropolis of Rawalpindi throughout an election rally. The household of the slain chief accused the final of being behind the killing, which Musharraf denied.
Within the common elections held in February 2008, Bhutto’s Pakistan Folks’s Celebration emerged victorious. Confronted with a menace of impeachment, Musharraf subsequently resigned because the president and finally left the nation for Dubai.
He divided his time between London and Dubai throughout his self-exile.
Treason trial
In 2010, Musharraf based the All Pakistan Muslim League political occasion, however suffered a humiliating defeat within the 2013 common elections. Sharif, whom Musharraf had deposed in 1999, got here again to energy. Musharraf himself was disqualified a month earlier than the 2013 polls.
Sharif’s authorities initiated a treason trial towards Musharraf for suspending the nation’s structure twice throughout his rule.
In December 2019, a particular courtroom discovered him responsible in absentia of excessive treason and subverting the structure and sentenced him to demise.
The director of the Pakistan Initiative on the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Middle, Uzair Younus, stated that whereas the previous common has handed away, “the lengthy and darkish shadow of his reign continues to hang-out Pakistan”.
“Whereas some, similar to residents of Karachi, nonetheless fondly bear in mind him for the event they noticed throughout his period, when these advantages are weighed towards the prices incurred by generations of Pakistanis throughout and after his dictatorship, it's fairly clear that generations of Pakistanis misplaced out because of the decisions that Musharraf made,” Younus informed Al Jazeera.
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