Former military ruler Musharraf’s body to be flown to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Feb 6 — The body of Pakistan’s exiled former navy ruler Pervez Musharraf, who became a crucial US ally for the duration of the “war on terror”, is anticipated to be repatriated on Monday.

Musharraf, who fled Pakistan in 2016 for clinical remedy soon after a travel ban was lifted, died on Sunday aged 79 in Dubai immediately after a extended ailment.

Senior officials who requested not to be named said his system would be repatriated on Monday, with a burial expected later in the working day.

Musharraf seized ability in a 1999 cold coup and was performing at the same time as Pakistan’s army chief, chief govt, and president when the 9/11 attacks on the United States took area.

The typical twice suspended the constitution and was accused of rigging a referendum shoring up his electricity, as perfectly as rampant rights abuses which includes rounding up opponents during his approximately nine-calendar year rule.

“In the stop he remaining Pakistanis with a deep distaste for immediate navy rule — so that even even though the navy wields considerably electricity guiding the scenes now, it does not want to be in electricity directly once more,” Madiha Afzal, an analyst from the Brookings Institution, explained to AFP.

Musharraf became Washington’s chief regional ally throughout the invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan, a choice which set him in the crosshairs of Islamist militants, who designed various makes an attempt on his lifetime.

But it also acquired Pakistan a large influx of foreign assist which bolstered the economy.

In Pakistan, exactly where the army stays supremely strong and enjoys major help, Musharraf is a divisive determine.

“There was excellent in him,” 69-calendar year-old Naeem Ul Haq Satti instructed AFP in an Islamabad marketplace.

“But his one particular act, which will be remembered throughout heritage, was he violated the constitution,” the retired civil servant extra. “The most vital point a place has is its constitution.”

Musharraf experienced been struggling from a uncommon sickness known as Amyloidosis and previous summertime his household stated he experienced no prospect of restoration.

Senior military services chiefs “express heartfelt condolences on unhappy demise of Common Pervez Musharraf”, a quick assertion released by the military’s media wing mentioned Sunday. — AFP