Voice of America
07 Feb 2023, 23:36 GMT+10
Final prayers were offered Tuesday in Karachi for Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's late president and military ruler.
The service at the grounds of a military complex took place hours after Musharraf's body was flown by a special jet to the southern port city from Dubai, where he and his family spent his final years in self-imposed exile. Among those in attendance were former military chiefs Qamar Javed Bajwa, Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Aslam Beg.
Current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif did not attend, but issued a message of condolence on Twitter: "I offer my condolences to the family of General (rtd) Pervez Musharraf. May the departed soul rest in peace!"
Musharraf was laid to rest in a military graveyard in Karachi.
The 79-year-old Musharraf died Sunday in Dubai from amyloidosis, a rare disease in which an abnormal protein builds up in organs, causing them to malfunction. He came to power in October 1999 after overthrowing democratically elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the current prime minister's brother, in a bloodless coup.
His efforts to root out corruption initially won him widespread popular support, which grew as Pakistan's economy flourished on the back of foreign assistance that the country received for supporting the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan that toppled the ruling Taliban in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. But his support of the U.S. grew increasingly unpopular as Pakistan suffered a rise in militancy and terrorism from local groups that supported the Afghan Taliban.
As his rule went on, major political parties remained suppressed, thousands of political opponents were arrested, and the freedom of the media and judiciary was curbed.
The assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007, and his suspension of Pakistan's constitution that same year, further eroded Musharraf's political standing. He resigned as president in 2008 and left Pakistan the next year.
Musharraf was tried in absentia for treason in 2013 and sentenced to death six years later. The punishment was struck down in 2020.
Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and reporting by Ayaz Gul in Islamabad.
Get a daily dose of Oakland Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Oakland Times.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York -U.S. stock markets closed with broad gains on Thursday, led by strong performances in U.S. tech stocks, while European...
PARIS, France: L'Oréal is making a fresh play in the booming premium haircare segment with a new acquisition. The French beauty conglomerate...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: In a significant ruling last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for users...
MENLO PARK, California: Robinhood is giving European investors a new way to tap into America's most prominent tech names — without...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks diverged on Wednesday for the second day in a row. The Standard and Poor's 500 hit a new all-time...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The U.S. dollar continues to lose ground, weighed down by growing concerns over Washington's fiscal outlook...
GENEVA, Switzerland: A new United Nations report alleges that dozens of global corporations are profiting from and helping sustain...
LONDON, UK - Lawmakers in the United Kingdom have voted overwhelmingly to proscribe the direct-action group Palestine Action as a terrorist...
DHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama is set to address a significant three-day conference of Buddhist leaders this week, coinciding with...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: In a significant ruling last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for users...
ISTANBUL/PARIS/BRUSSELS: As searing temperatures blanket much of Europe, wildfires are erupting and evacuation orders are being issued...
VENICE, Italy: Over the weekend, hundreds of protesters marched through the narrow streets of Venice to voice their opposition to billionaire...