Pervez Musharraf, a former four-star general in the Pakistani army who controlled the South Asian nation for more than ten years after seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1999, has died. He was 79.
Is Pervez Musharraf Alive?
No, Pervez Musharraf is dead. Musharraf, who was born on August 11th, 1943 in Delhi, relocated to Pakistan’s port city of Karachi with his family in 1947 following the subcontinent’s division by the British. From 1949 until 1956, he lived in Turkey while his father was an ambassador there.
At the age of 18, he enlisted in the Pakistani army and was given a commission in the artillery unit before later becoming a commando.
He was awarded for his deeds during two engagements with India despite his raucous and brash temperament, which led to various disciplinary measures, and he was promoted to general in 1991.
The military establishment was astonished when then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif elevated Musharraf to chief of army staff after forcing General Jehangir Karamat to resign over a dispute over security strategy in 1998.