Pervez Musharraf’s body to be repatriated to Pakistan for burial today

Pakistan’s former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s body will be repatriated back to Pakistan for burial— a final farewell today (Monday).

A special aircraft is set to fly to Dubai on Monday morning to repatriate the remains of the former president.

The aircraft will fly from Al Maktoum Airport and will land at Nur Khan Airbase today. However, Musharraf is set to be buried in a Karachi graveyard.

The family of the late former president had applied to the Pakistan consulate in Dubai to transport his body back to Pakistan.

The Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai has issued a no-objection certificate to facilitate the process for the family.

Through Consul General Hassan Afzal Khan, the consulate stated that they are in close contact with the family and will assist in any way possible. The nation prepares to bid farewell to the late former leader.

Musharraf passed away early Sunday morning in Dubai, where he had been living since 2016, due to amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body.

Senior military chiefs “express heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of General Pervez Musharraf”, a brief statement released by the military’s media wing said. “May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to the bereaved family.”

President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, politicians, celebrities, and the entire nation expressed their condolences over the death of former president Gen. (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

The legacy of Pervez Musharraf

Musharraf seized power in 1999 in a bloodless coup after the then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif tried to dismiss him as army chief, having appointed him above more senior officers a year earlier.

In more than seven years in office, he oversaw a stint of economic growth while dodging at least three assassination attempts.

Musharraf won a five-year term as president in a 2002 referendum, but reneged on promises to quit as army chief until late 2007.

His easygoing charm also failed to mask the blurring of the division between the state and army, and he fell out of favour after trying to sack the chief justice.

After the December 2007 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the national mood soured even more and crushing losses suffered by his allies in 2008 elections left him isolated.

Musharraf’s plan to return to power in 2013 was dashed when he was disqualified from running in an election won by Nawaz Sharif – the man he deposed in 1999.

In 2016 a travel ban was lifted and Musharraf flew to Dubai to seek medical treatment.

Three years later, he was sentenced to death in absentia for treason, related to his 2007 decision to impose emergency rule. However, a court later nullified the ruling.

Meanwhile, Musharraf’s mother is reported to be resting comfortably in Dubai while his father was laid to rest in Karachi.