Islamabad: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, whose 1999 military takeover of the then Nawaz Sharif government months after orchestrating the Kargil war set him up for a nine-year run as a player on the world stage, died on Sunday in a Dubai hospital of the rare disease amyloidosis. He was 79. New Delhi-born Musharraf, who was sentenced to death in absentia for treason in 2019, had been allowed to leave Pakistan three years earlier for medical treatment. The Pakistan mission in Dubai issued a no-objection certificate for his body to be taken back to the country for burial, consul general Hasan Afzal Khan said.
Musharraf, who helmed the country for almost nine years (1999-2008), had been appointed by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif as army chief just the year before he executed a military coup to overthrow the elected government.
Due to the repercussions at home, the 9/11 terror attacks in the US months after Musharraf took office would end up being the turning point of his presidency. He was forced to form an alliance with the US for that country's war on terror after the administration of then-President George W. Bush issued the ultimatum, "You are either with us or against us."
Musharraf reinstated protests in November 2007 by declaring a state of emergency and suspending the constitution. Later that month, he announced his resignation as army leader, but it had little impact on his political standing because Benazir Bhutto's murder in December sparked more widespread unrest and violence. He was charged with intentionally failing to provide for her security.
Musharraf was charged with treason by Sharif for declaring an emergency in 2007 and initiating legal action against him. The no-fly list was then created with his name on it. He was removed from the no fly list in 2016 and given permission to depart the country for health reasons.