Pakistan’s Former President Pervez Musharraf Sentenced To Death

He was charged with high treason and violation of the Constitution.

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, accused of high treason and violating the Constitution, was sentenced to death in absentia in Islamabad. Tried by an anti-terrorism court made up of three magistrates, he was accused of having imposed a state of emergency in 2007, in violation of the Constitution. A two-thirds majority won for the court judgment. He is the first soldier brought to justice in Pakistan for this reason. Pervez Musharraf was not present at the verdict. He currently resides in Dubai, where he is undergoing medical treatment.

Pervez Musharraf was born in Delhi in 1943. His family emigrated to Pakistan after the partition of the Indian subcontinent. A former member of the elite commandos, he was appointed the head of the armed forces in 1998, he had taken power in Pakistan the following year, after a bloodless coup. He was appointed president between 2001 and 2008.

His support for American politics after 9/11 made him unpopular but replaced his country in the global geopolitical balance. Proof of his involvement in the fight against terrorism, he decided, in 2007, to storm the red mosque, where elements close to al-Qaeda are present. One hundred people were killed in the intervention.

Musharraf resigned in 2008 to anticipate a threat of dismissal and left the country for an exile between London and Dubai. In Pakistan, his property is seized. He returned to the national territory during the 2013 legislative campaign, for which he intended to compete, despite threats from the Taliban.