Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf to be buried in Karachi

Pakistan's former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, who died in Dubai on Sunday, will be buried in an army camp area in Karachi on Tuesday, officials said.

Musharraf, the architect of the 1999 Kargil war and Pakistan's last military ruler, died on Sunday in Dubai after a long illness. The 79-year-old retired general had been living in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates since 2016. He was treated for amyloidosis in Dubai.

Musharraf's mortal remains arrived here on Monday in a special flight from Dubai. His wife Saba, son Bilal, daughter and other close relatives arrived with the body on a special Malta Aviation plane secured by the UAE authorities. The plane landed at the old terminal of the Jinnah International Airport amid tight security and the former president's family and body were taken to the Malir camp area, officials said.

“Arrangements have been completed at Malir Cantt where he will be buried at the Old Army Cemetery in Karachi. The funeral prayers will be held at Gulmohar Polo Ground in Malir Cantt,” an official source said.
The information minister of the All Pakistan Muslim League, which Musharraf formed after his retirement, said all arrangements had been completed.

"Funeral prayers will be offered at the Polo Ground in Malir Cantt at 1:45 pm," he said, adding that Musharraf would be laid to rest at the Army Cemetery. The former military ruler's body was supposed to arrive at the Karachi airport on Monday afternoon, but delays in aircraft availability and some other documentation and NoCs procedures between the Pakistan Mission in the UAE and the Pakistan government delayed the repatriation of Musharraf's mortal remains.

Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless military coup in October 1999 that ousted the elected government of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, ruled Pakistan as chief executive and president until 2008.
The former president and military chief suffered from amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by the buildup of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body, his family said.

Musharraf, who was born in New Delhi in 1943 and emigrated to Pakistan after partition in 1947, was the last military dictator to rule Pakistan.