Pervez Musharraf facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
General
Pervez Musharraf
NI(M) HI(M) TBt
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پرویز مشرف
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Musharraf in 2008
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| 10th President of Pakistan | |
| In office 20 June 2001 – 18 August 2008 |
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| Prime Minister |
See list
Zafarullah Khan Jamali
Shujaat Hussain Shaukat Aziz Muhammad Mian Soomro (caretaker) Yusuf Raza Gilani |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Rafiq Tarar |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Mian Soomro (acting) |
| Chief Executive of Pakistan | |
| In office 12 October 1999 – 21 November 2002 |
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| President | Muhammad Rafiq Tarar |
| Preceded by | Nawaz Sharif (Prime Minister) |
| Succeeded by | Zafarullah Khan Jamali (Prime Minister) |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 12 October 1999 – 23 October 2002 |
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| Preceded by | Nawaz Sharif |
| Succeeded by | Rao Sikandar Iqbal |
| 10th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee | |
| In office 8 October 1998 – 7 October 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Jehangir Karamat |
| Succeeded by | Aziz Khan |
| 7th Chief of Army Staff | |
| In office 6 October 1998 – 29 November 2007 |
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| President |
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| Prime Minister |
See list
Nawaz Sharif
Zafarullah Khan Jamali Shaukat Aziz Muhammad Mian Soomro (caretaker) |
| Preceded by | Jehangir Karamat |
| Succeeded by | Ashfaq Parvez Kayani |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Syed Pervez Musharraf
11 August 1943 Delhi, British India |
| Died | 5 February 2023 (aged 79) Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Resting place | Army Graveyard, Karachi, Pakistan |
| Citizenship |
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| Political party | All Pakistan Muslim League |
| Other political affiliations |
Pakistan Muslim League (Q) |
| Spouse |
Sehba
(m. 1968) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater |
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| Awards |
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| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Pakistan Army |
| Years of service | 1964–2007 |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | Regiment of Artillery |
| Commands |
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| Battles/wars |
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Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani military officer and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. He also served as the 10th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th Chief of Army Staff from 1998 to 2007.
Contents
Early life
British India
Musharraf was born on 11 August 1943 to an Urdu-speaking family in Delhi, British India, the son of Syed Musharrafuddin and his wife Begum Zarin Musharraf (c. 1920–2021). His family were Muslims who were also Sayyids, claiming descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Syed Musharraf graduated from Aligarh Muslim University and entered the civil service, which was an extremely prestigious career under British rule. He came from a long line of government officials as his great-grandfather was a tax collector while his maternal grandfather was a qazi (judge). Musharraf's mother Zarin, born in the early 1920s, grew up in Lucknow and received her schooling there, after which she graduated from Indraprastha College at Delhi University, taking a bachelor's degree in English literature. She then married and devoted herself to raising a family. His father, Syed, was an accountant who worked at the foreign office in the British Indian government and eventually became an accounting director.
Musharraf was the second of three children, all boys. His elder brother, Javed Musharraf, based in Rome, is an economist and one of the directors of the International Fund for Agricultural Development. His younger brother, Naved Musharraf, is an anaesthesiologist based in the state of Illinois, in the United States.
At the time of his birth, Musharraf's family lived in a large home that belonged to his father's family for many years called Nehar Wali Haveli, which means "House Next to the Canal". Sir Syed Ahmed Khan's family lived next door. It is indicative of "the family's western education and social prominence" that the house's title deeds, although written entirely in Urdu, were signed by Musharraf's father in English.
Pakistan and Turkey
Musharraf was four years old when India achieved independence and Pakistan was created as the homeland for India's Muslims. His family left for Pakistan in August 1947, a few days before independence. His father joined the Pakistan Civil Services and began to work for the Pakistani government; later, his father joined the Foreign Ministry, taking up an assignment in Turkey. In his autobiography In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, Musharraf elaborates on his first experience with death, after falling off a mango tree.
Musharraf's family moved to Ankara in 1949, when his father became part of a diplomatic deputation from Pakistan to Turkey. He learned to speak Turkish. He had a dog named Whiskey that gave him a "lifelong love for dogs". He played sports in his youth. In 1956, he left Turkey and returned to Pakistan in 1957 where he attended Saint Patrick's School in Karachi and was accepted at the Forman Christian College University in Lahore. At Forman, Musharraf chose mathematics as a major in which he excelled academically, but later developed an interest in economics.
Career
In 1961, at the age of 18, Musharraf entered the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul. At the Academy, General Musharraf formed a deep friendship with General Srilal Weerasooriya, who went on to become the 15th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army. This enduring camaraderie between the two officers played a pivotal role in cultivating robust diplomatic and military ties between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the years that followed.
Also during his college years at PMA and initial joint military testings, Musharraf shared a room with PQ Mehdi of the Pakistan Air Force and Abdul Aziz Mirza of the Navy (both reached four-star assignments and served with Musharraf later on) and after giving the exams and entrance interviews, all three cadets went to watch a world-acclaimed Urdu film, Savera (lit. Dawn), with his inter-services and college friends, Musharraf recalls, In the Line of Fire, published in 2006.
With his friends, Musharraf passed the standardised, physical, psychological, and officer-training exams, he also took discussions involving socioeconomics issues; all three were interviewed by joint military officers who were designated as Commandants. The next day, Musharraf along with PQ Mehdi and Mirza, reported to PMA and they were selected for their respective training in their arms of commission.
Finally, in 1964, Musharraf graduated with a Bachelor's degree in his class of 29th PMA Long Course together with Ali Kuli Khan and his lifelong friend Abdul Aziz Mirza. He was commissioned in the artillery regiment as second lieutenant and posted near the Indo-Pakistan border. By the 1980s, he was commanding an artillery brigade. In the 1990s, Musharraf was promoted to major general and assigned an infantry division, and later commanded the Special Services Group. Soon after, he also served as deputy military secretary and director general of military operations. He played an active role in the Afghan Civil War, encouraging Pakistani support for the Taliban.
Musharraf became the head of the armed forces in 1998 when he was promoted to four-star general by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He led the Kargil infiltration that brought India and Pakistan to a war in 1999. After months of contentious relations between Sharif and Musharraf, Sharif unsuccessfully attempted to remove Musharraf as the army's leader. In retaliation, the army staged a coup d'état in 1999, which allowed Musharraf to take over Pakistan as president in 2001. He subsequently placed Sharif under strict house arrest before launching official criminal proceedings against him. Musharraf initially remained the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Chief of Army Staff, relinquishing the former position upon confirmation of his presidency.
Presidency (2001–2008)
During his presidency, Musharraf reinstated the constitution in 2002, though it was heavily amended. He appointed Zafarullah Jamali and later Shaukat Aziz as prime minister, and oversaw directed policies against terrorism, becoming a key player in the American-led war on terror.
Musharraf promoted economic liberalisation, while he also banned trade unions. Musharraf's presidency coincided with a rise of overall gross domestic product by around 50%; in the same period, domestic savings declined, and economic inequality rose at a rapid rate. Musharraf's government has also been accused of human rights abuses, and he survived a number of assassination attempts during his presidency.
His cultural policies liberalised Pakistan's media, and he issued many television licences to the private-sector to open television centres and media houses. The television dramas, film industry, theatre, music and literature activities, were personally encouraged by Pervez Musharraf. Under his policies, the rock music bands gained a following in the country and many concerts were held each week. His cultural policies, the film, theatre, rock and folk music, and television programs were extremely devoted to and promoted the national spirit of the country.
When Aziz departed as prime minister, and after approving the suspension of the judicature in 2007, Musharraf's position weakened dramatically. Musharraf resigned in 2008 to avoid impeachment and emigrated to London in a self-imposed exile.
Post-presidency
After his resignation, Musharraf went to perform a holy pilgrimage to Mecca. He then went on a speaking and lectureship tour through the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.
Musharraf returned to Pakistan in 2013 to participate in that year's general election, but was disqualified from participating after the country's high courts issued arrest warrants for him and Aziz for their alleged involvement in the assassinations of Nawab Akbar Bugti and Benazir Bhutto. Upon Sharif's re-election in 2013, he initiated high treason charges against Musharraf for implementing emergency rule and suspending the constitution in 2007. The case against Musharraf continued after Sharif's removal from office in 2017. On 17 December 2019, a special court declared him a traitor and sentenced him in absentia to death for abrogating and suspending the constitution in November 2007. The death sentence was later annulled by the Lahore High Court.
Personal life
Musharraf was the second son of his parents and had two brothers—Javed and Naved. Javed retired as a high-level official in Pakistan's civil service. Naved is an anaesthetist who has lived in Chicago since completing his residency training at Loyola University Medical Center in 1979.
Musharraf married Sehba, who is from Karachi, on 28 December 1968. They had a daughter, Ayla, an architect married to film director Asim Raza, and a son, Bilal. He also had close family ties to the prominent Kheshgi family.
Death
On 5 February 2023, Musharraf died at age 79 due to amyloidosis. He had been hospitalised a year prior due to the disease. His body was returned to Karachi, Pakistan, from Dubai on 6 February. His funeral prayers were offered at a mosque in Karachi's Gulmohar Polo Ground in Malir Cantonment on 7 February. He was laid to rest with military honours in an army graveyard.
See also
In Spanish: Pervez Musharraf para niños
Images for kids
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President Gen. Pervez Musharraf speaks during a press conference at the Pakistan Air Force base in Chaklala Pakistan.
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US president George W. Bush and Musharraf address the media in Cross Hall.
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President Musharraf is greeted by President Bush in Washington in September 2006.
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Speaking at Chatham House in London in 2010
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Pervez Musharraf speaking at the WEF
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