Musharraf, 79, died in hospital after a long illness after spending years in self-imposed exile, Pakistani media reported on Sunday. He enjoyed strong support for many years, with his biggest threat being Al-Qaeda and other Islamist militants who tried to kill him at least three times.
But his brutal use of the military to suppress dissent as well as his continued support for the United States in its fight against al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban ultimately led to his downfall.
Born in New Delhi in 1943, Musharraf was four years old when his parents joined the mass exodus of Muslims to the new state of Pakistan. Her father served in the Foreign Office, while her mother was a teacher and the family subscribed to a moderate and tolerant Islam.
He joined the army at the age of 18 and later led an elite commando unit before becoming its leader. He seized power by ousting then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who had tried to sack him for giving the green light to an operation to invade Indian-held areas of Kashmir, bringing Pakistan and l India on the brink of war.
During his first years in government, Musharraf won international acclaim for his reform efforts, passing legislation to protect women’s rights and allowing private news channels to operate for the first time.
His penchant for cigars and imported whiskey and his appeals to Muslims to adopt a lifestyle of “enlightened moderation” increased his appeal in the West in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
He became one of Washington’s most important allies after the attacks, allowing US forces to use armed drones from secret bases on Pakistani soil that killed thousands and ordering national troops to travel to the country’s lawless tribal areas along the Afghan border for the first time in Pakistan’s history.
This helped legitimize his rule abroad, but also helped plunge Pakistan into a bloody war against local extremist militant groups.
In a 2006 memoir, he took credit for saving Pakistan from American wrath by saying the country had been warned it had to be “Stone Age bomb ready” if he was not allied with Washington.
Musharraf also successfully pressured then-President George W. Bush to inject money into the Pakistani military. Yet the military’s allegiances have never been unambiguous: its powerful intelligence services have struck deals with the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and bolstered an insurgency fighting US troops in Afghanistan.
In other areas of foreign policy, Musharraf attempted to normalize relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
At a regional summit in 2002, less than three years after the military operation against India was launched, Musharraf shocked the world when, after finishing a speech, he suddenly walked over to the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee shake hands and offered to talk about peace.
Analysts say the Kashmir issue – which remains the most powerful point of contention between India and Pakistan – was on the verge of being resolved during the Musharraf era. But the peace process was derailed shortly after his reign.
Under Musharraf, foreign investment has flourished and Pakistan has seen annual economic growth of up to 7.5% – still the highest level in nearly three decades, according to World Bank data.
The last years of his presidency, however, were overshadowed by his increasingly authoritarian rule. In 2006, Musharraf ordered military action that killed a tribal leader in Baluchistan province, laying the foundation for an armed insurgency that rages to this day.
The following year, more than a hundred students calling for the imposition of Sharia law were killed after Musharraf avoided negotiations and ordered troops to storm a mosque in Islamabad. This led to the birth of a new militant group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has since killed tens of thousands in suicide bombings and brazen assaults.
Later in 2007, a suicide bombing that killed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto sparked waves of violence. His efforts to arm the judiciary also led to protests, and a beleaguered Musharraf postponed elections and declared a state of emergency.
In 2008, the country’s first democratic elections in 11 years were held. Musharraf’s party lost and faced with impeachment by parliament, he resigned the presidency and fled to London.
He returned to Pakistan in 2013 to run for a seat in parliament but was immediately disqualified. He was allowed to leave for Dubai in 2016.
In 2019, a court sentenced him to death in absentia for imposing a state of emergency in 2007, but the verdict was later overturned.
