Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf passes away

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Pervez Musharraf, former President of Pakistan, passed away after a prolonged illness on 5 February at a hospital in Dubai. He was 79.

An overview of the news

• Musharraf was undergoing treatment for a rare disease called amyloidosis, which is caused by a build-up of abnormal proteins called amyloid in organs and tissues.

• Musharraf was a four-star general who ruled Pakistan for nearly a decade after seizing power in a 1999 coup.

• Musharraf had been in self-exile in Dubai since March 2016 facing trial for treason for suspending the constitution in 2007.

• He was declared a proclaimed offender in the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto assassination case and the Lal Masjid Maulvi murder case.

• Musharraf rose to power following a military takeover of the government in 1999 and became the tenth President of Pakistan in June 2001.

• He resigned in August 2008, facing possible impeachment.

• Musharraf was born in New Delhi in 1943, at the age of four his family moved to Pakistan. His father was employed in the Ministry of External Affairs, while his mother was a teacher.

• He joined the Pakistan Army in 1961, participated in the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971, and was promoted to the rank of Four Star General.

• Musharraf is considered the chief architect of the Kargil War, which took place in 1999, soon after India and Pakistan signed the Lahore Declaration.

• Musharraf as president came to Agra in 2001 for a peace summit with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but talks broke down and a treaty was never signed.

• He was allowed to visit Dubai in 2016.