General Musharraf was born in Delhi in August 1943, but his family joined millions of other Muslims in the newly created Pakistan, following the partition of India in 1947 after British rule ended. He joined the Pakistan Military Academy in 1962, serving in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965. Pakistan’s political landscape changed dramatically with the events of September 11, when he was in power.
The ex-military ruler, who was president from 2001-2008, died in Dubai on 5th Feb, 2023, after a long illness, his body was repatriated to Pakistan. Pervez Musharraf was a key US ally during its “war on terror” (WOT) but had a complicated legacy. As Pakistan’s leader at the time of the United States’ WOT in the wake of the 11 September terror attacks in 2001, Musharraf controversially supported the American-led military campaign to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, who had harbored Muslim radicals blamed for the attacks.
In January 2002, he issued a strong condemnation of extremism, pledging to fight Islamist terrorism in Pakistan. This angered the militants and several assassination attempts were made against him. He was pressured by Washington to take aggressive action against these Islamist operatives in the tribal areas, and the Pakistani military launched a major campaign to combat militants, particularly in mountainous Waziristan. He is also known as “architect of the 1999 Kargil War.”
In 2008 he suffered defeat in the polls and left the country six months later. He was embroiled in a number of court cases following his loss of power, including accusations of failing to provide adequate security for former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, whose assassination by the Taliban in 2007 sent shockwaves around the world.
Pakistan’s military officials expressed its “heartfelt condolences”, while President Arif Alvi prayed “for eternal rest of the departed soul”. Musharraf’s funeral took place at a military compound in Karachi. His body was then transported to a nearby military graveyard where the coffin, draped in the national flag, was buried as hundreds of people watched surrounded by tight security.
An estimated 10,000 people attended the prayers, mainly retired and serving military officers, AFP news agency reported. A junior army officer at the site said a gun salute was given to the former leader. Neither the army chief, prime minister or president were there, but local media reported that some politicians and former army chiefs attended. However, the prayers proposal for the departed soul caused a heated debate. It became a matter of political wrangling after lawmakers in both the houses of parliament dredged up the legacy of the military junta as a reason to refrain from offering supplication for the departed soul.
The senators bickered and hurled allegations against each other for supporting dictatorial regimes and violators of the Constitution when the issue of prayers for Musharraf came up. Notably, the Pakistani Parliament follows a tradition of offering prayers for the departed soul when a leading politician or personality of the country dies, but sensing the majority was against offering prayers for Musharraf, the Senate’s Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani decided to skip the prayers. Musharraf leaves behind a mixed legacy and that while he navigated some difficult times around the events of 9/11, his actions also set Pakistan back several years. It should be left to the history to judge him.
