Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf[a] (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani military officer and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. He also served as the 10th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th Chief of Army Staff from 1998 to 2007.
"Musharraf" redirects here. For the given name, see Musharraf (name).
Pervez Musharraf
Muhammad Mian Soomro (acting)
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
Nawaz Sharif (Prime Minister)
Zafarullah Khan Jamali (Prime Minister)
Nawaz Sharif
- Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
- Himself
- Nawaz Sharif
- Zafarullah Khan Jamali
- Shaukat Aziz
- Muhammad Mian Soomro (caretaker)
Jehangir Karamat
11 August 1943
Delhi, British India
5 February 2023 (aged 79)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Army Graveyard, Karachi, Pakistan
- British subject (until 1947)
- Pakistan (after 1947)
2
1964–2007
- I Corps
- Special Services Group
- Director General, military operations
- 40th Division
Musharraf became the head of the armed forces in 1998 when he was promoted to four-star general by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He led the Kargil infiltration that brought India and Pakistan to a war in 1999. After months of contentious relations between Sharif and Musharraf, Sharif unsuccessfully attempted to remove Musharraf as the army's leader. In retaliation, the army staged a coup d'état in 1999, which allowed Musharraf to take over Pakistan as president in 2001. He subsequently placed Sharif under strict house arrest before launching official criminal proceedings against him. Musharraf initially remained the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Chief of Army Staff, relinquishing the former position upon confirmation of his presidency. However, he remained the Army Chief until retiring in 2007. The initial stages of his presidency featured controversial wins in a state referendum to grant him a five-year term limit, and a general election in 2002. During his presidency, he advocated for the Third Way, adopting a synthesis of conservatism and socialism. Musharraf reinstated the constitution in 2002, though it was heavily amended within the Legal Framework Order. He appointed Zafarullah Jamali and later Shaukat Aziz as prime minister, and oversaw directed policies against terrorism, becoming a key player in the American-led war on terror.
Musharraf pushed for social liberalism under his enlightened moderation program and promoted economic liberalisation, while he also banned trade unions. Musharraf's presidency coincided with a rise of overall gross domestic product by around 50%; in the same period, domestic savings declined, and economic inequality rose at a rapid rate. Musharraf's government has also been accused of human rights abuses, and he survived a number of assassination attempts during his presidency. When Aziz departed as prime minister, and after approving the suspension of the judicature in 2007, Musharraf's position weakened dramatically. Musharraf resigned in 2008 to avoid impeachment and emigrated to London in a self-imposed exile. His legacy as leader is mixed; he saw the emergence of a more assertive middle class, but his open disregard for civilian institutions greatly weakened democracy in Pakistan.
Musharraf returned to Pakistan in 2013 to participate in that year's general election, but was disqualified from participating after the country's high courts issued arrest warrants for him and Aziz for their alleged involvement in the assassinations of Nawab Akbar Bugti and Benazir Bhutto. Upon Sharif's re-election in 2013, he initiated high treason charges against Musharraf for implementing emergency rule and suspending the constitution in 2007. The case against Musharraf continued after Sharif's removal from office in 2017, the same year in which Musharraf was declared an "absconder" in the Bhutto assassination case by virtue of moving to Dubai.[1]
In 2019, Musharraf was sentenced to death in absentia by the Special Court for being guilty of high treason for the illegal imposition of the 2007 Pakistani state of emergency.[2] While the sentence was later unconstitutionally annulled by the Lahore High Court in 2020,[3][4] the Court later concluded that Musharraf was guilty of high treason in 2024 and the Supreme Court of Pakistan upheld his conviction for abrogating the Constitution of Pakistan.[5] However, he died at age 79 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in February 2023 after suffering from a prolonged case of amyloidosis.[6][7]
Early life
British India
Musharraf was born on 11 August 1943 to an Urdu-speaking family in Delhi, British India,[8][9][10] the son of Syed Musharrafuddin[11] and his wife Begum Zarin Musharraf (c. 1920–2021).[12][13][14][15][16] His family were Muslims who were also Sayyids, claiming descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[17] Syed Musharraf graduated from Aligarh Muslim University and entered the civil service, which was an extremely prestigious career under British rule.[18] He came from a long line of government officials as his great-grandfather was a tax collector while his maternal grandfather was a qazi (judge).[11] Musharraf's mother Zarin, born in the early 1920s, grew up in Lucknow and received her schooling there, after which she graduated from Indraprastha College at Delhi University, taking a bachelor's degree in English literature. She then married and devoted herself to raising a family.[9][17] His father, Syed, was an accountant who worked at the foreign office in the British Indian government and eventually became an accounting director.[11]
Musharraf was the second of three children, all boys. His elder brother, Javed Musharraf, based in Rome, is an economist and one of the directors of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.[19] His younger brother, Naved Musharraf, is an anaesthesiologist based in the state of Illinois, in the United States.[19]
At the time of his birth, Musharraf's family lived in a large home that belonged to his father's family for many years called Nehar Wali Haveli, which means "House Next to the Canal".[11] Sir Syed Ahmed Khan's family lived next door. It is indicative of "the family's western education and social prominence" that the house's title deeds, although written entirely in Urdu, were signed by Musharraf's father in English.[20]
Pakistan and Turkey
Musharraf was four years old when India achieved independence and Pakistan was created as the homeland for India's Muslims. His family left for Pakistan in August 1947, a few days before independence.[13][20][21] His father joined the Pakistan Civil Services and began to work for the Pakistani government; later, his father joined the Foreign Ministry, taking up an assignment in Turkey.[13] In his autobiography In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, Musharraf elaborates on his first experience with death, after falling off a mango tree.[22]
Musharraf's family moved to Ankara in 1949, when his father became part of a diplomatic deputation from Pakistan to Turkey.[18][23] He learned to speak Turkish.[24][25] He had a dog named Whiskey that gave him a "lifelong love for dogs".[18] He played sports in his youth.[13][26] In 1956, he left Turkey[18][23] and returned to Pakistan in 1957[24] where he attended Saint Patrick's School in Karachi and was accepted at the Forman Christian College University in Lahore.[18][27][28] At Forman, Musharraf chose mathematics as a major in which he excelled academically, but later developed an interest in economics.[29]
Bibliography
Musharraf published his autobiography—In the Line of Fire: A Memoir—in 2006.[305] His book has also been translated into Urdu, Hindi, Tamil and Bangali. In Urdu the title is Sab Se Pehle Pakistan (Pakistan Comes First).