Musharraf passes away, Tharoor condoles; BJP slams Congress

Islamabad/Dubai: Pakistan's wily former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, the architect of the Kargil War in 1999, died on Sunday in Dubai after battling an incurable disease. Musharraf, 79, lived in self-imposed exile in the UAE to avoid criminal charges against him in Pakistan, died after a prolonged illness at the American Hospital in Dubai. He was suffering from amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body, according to his family.

In a statement issued immediately after Musharraf's death, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan military, said that Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad and all the services chiefs express their heartfelt condolences.A special jet will fly to Dubai from Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi to bring Musharraf's mortal remains back to Pakistan.

His illness came to light in 2018 when his party - the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) - announced that the former military ruler was suffering from amyloidosis. In June last, he was hospitalised in Dubai for three weeks. "Going through a difficult stage where recovery is not possible and organs are malfunctioning. Pray for ease in his daily living," his family said at the time in a statement after the news of his demise had started circulating on social media. Musharraf was the main architect of the Kargil War that took place months after then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif signed a historic peace accord with his Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lahore.

After his failed misadventure in Kargil, Musharraf deposed the then Prime Minister Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999 and ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008 in various positions - first as the chief executive of Pakistan and later as the President. Born in a middle-class family of Urdu-speaking Mohajir parents in Delhi in 1943, Musharraf migrated to Pakistan with his family after the Partition in 1947. Pakistan's last military dictator died on Sunday as a forgotten man in politics after spending his final years in self-exile in the UAE to avoid criminal charges against him in his country. During his stint as the head of the Pakistan government, Musharraf allied with America in the war against terror after the 9/11 attacks on the US and cracked down on Islamist groups and banned dozens of radical outfits, a move that angered radicals.

He even escaped assassination attempts in later years. Nawaz Sharif's younger brother and current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended condolences and sympathy to Musharraf's family. "Praying for the forgiveness of the deceased and patience of the family," he said in a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office. Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani also expressed deep sorrow over the former president's death and extended condolences to the grieving family. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf leader and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry described Musharraf as a "great person" and said his ideology was to always keep Pakistan first.

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday condoled the passing away of Musharraf, saying that "once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace" between 2002 and 2007. Tharoor's social media post condoling Musharraf's demise evoked a sharp response from the BJP which accused the Congress of "Pakistan parasti (worshipping)". Musharraf passed away on Sunday in a Dubai hospital, according to media reports. "'Pervez Musharraf, Former Pakistani President, Dies of Rare Disease': once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007," Tharoor said in a tweet.