Pervez Musharraf

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Pervez Musharraf (2004)

Pervez Musharraf ( Urdu پرویز مشرّف; * August 11, 1943 in Delhi , British India ) was President of Pakistan from 2001 until his resignation in 2008 . In 1999, he took over government power in a bloodless military coup and had come under increasing domestic political pressure since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 due to his dictatorial style of government and the rapprochement with the United States .

Career

In 1947, after the partition of India, Musharraf moved with his parents to the western part of the country, which forms today's Pakistan. After his school education in Turkey , where he lived until 1956, he returned to Pakistan, opted for a military career and from 1961 attended the Military Academy in Kakul in Northern Pakistan and the Royal College of Defense Studies in the United Kingdom . He was also trained in Ankara and learned Turkish there . In two wars he fought against India and rose to the rank of First General.

Seizure of power

As Chief of Staff of the Army, Musharraf took power in the October 12, 1999 military coup and placed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif under house arrest . On 22 December 1999 the Government of Pakistan occupied with 30,000 troops, the power stations of Pakistan. This helped to gain military control over the economy. On June 20, 2001, he formally became President of Pakistan. On November 28, 2007, he handed over the post of army chief, the supreme command of the armed forces, to Ashfaq Parvez Kayani .

Politics and Reputation

Musharraf was viewed as a moderate leader by Western governments because he was willing to cooperate with the West. He was open to economic reforms and ready to modernize Pakistan. He was considered to be largely secular (although this always had to lead to tensions with the basic principles of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan). After he came to power, Islamist elements were removed from the military and security forces.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the USA, Musharraf worked closely with US President George W. Bush in the so-called war on terror and has since been considered one of the USA's closest allies in the fight against terrorism, which is why he has been is sometimes mocked as "Busharraf" in one's own country. Because of the tense domestic political situation and because of his government coalition with moderate Islamists, he hesitated for a long time to take decisive action against the militias in the border area with Afghanistan ( Taliban , al-Qaeda ) and against Islamic religious schools.

attack

On December 14, 2003, Musharraf survived a bombing attempt while his highly secured convoy crossed a bridge in Rawalpindi . This was the third attempt of this kind in his seven-year term.

In the period that followed, there was a tentative rapprochement with India as part of the so-called cricket diplomacy .

state of emergency

On November 3, 2007, Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan and suspended the general election . The head of the Pakistani Supreme Court , Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry , was ousted. After being sworn in as President on November 29, 2007, he announced that the state of emergency would end on December 16 and that the general election would take place on January 8, 2008. The date was postponed to February 18, 2008 following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto . In this election the Musharraf faction of the Muslim League (PML-Q) , which supports Musharraf, suffered a significant loss of votes; it became only the third strongest force in the National Assembly after the PPP ( Pakistan Peoples Party ) of the murdered Benazir Bhutto and the Muslim league PML-N of Nawaz Sharif .

Resignation and arrest warrants

On August 7, 2008, at a press conference, Pakistan's ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari , deputy chairman of the Pakistani People's Party and widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto , announced impeachment proceedings against Musharraf. The People's Party also intended to reinstate 60 judges dismissed by the President after the Supreme Court sought to verify that Musharraf's re-election in October 2007 was legal. Sharif and Zardari accused Musharraf of abuse of office and blamed him for the economic crisis in the country as well as the loss of confidence among the population. Musharraf then announced his resignation in a televised address on August 18, 2008. According to media reports, he had previously been assured that he would be allowed to leave the country.

In February 2011, it became known that a Pakistani court had issued an arrest warrant for Musharraf. In connection with the murder of the opposition politician Benazir Bhutto , he was accused of not having taken sufficient care of her personal protection. Pakistan's state investigative agency FIA had named the ex-president a few days earlier as the suspect in the murder case. Charges have also been brought against Musharraf in connection with the fatal military attack on Akbar Bugti in August 2006, the declaration of a state of emergency (2007) and the arrest of judges.

Return from exile and life-long political ban

On March 24, 2013 Musharraf returned to his home country from his temporary exile in Dubai . He said that he wanted to run in the parliamentary elections on May 11, 2013 with his newly founded All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) party . Previously, three lawsuits pending against him were supposed to be suspended on bail by a court in Karachi. The Taliban threatened to kill Musharraf if he returned from exile. On April 16, 2013, a lawyer announced that Musharraf would not be allowed to run in the May 11, 2013 elections. According to the Pakistani electoral system, Musharraf had applied to run in four counties. His candidacy was only approved in the Chitral district . After appeals from lawyers, Musharraf's permit was withdrawn there. Musharraf's lawyers announced they would appeal.

On April 18, 2013, a court ordered his arrest in connection with the imposition of house arrest against judges during Musharraf's tenure. Musharraf is said to have fled a judicial building, but turned himself in to the police a short time later. He was taken into custody and was allowed to stay at his home. At the end of April 2013, Musharraf was banned from politics for life by the High Court in Peshawar and had to wait until May 14, 2013 - d. H. three days after the general election - remain in custody.

Murder charges

In June 2013, a court issued an arrest warrant for Musharraf for the murder of Akbar Bugti , a politician from Balochistan province . Former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Owais Ahmed Ghani, former governor of Balochistan Province, were also charged.

On August 20, 2013, Musharraf was charged in a Rawalpindi court in the case of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto on the charges of murder, conspiracy to murder, and accessory to murder. Musharraf dismissed all allegations as bogus. In connection with Musharraf was now living in Dubai in exile, the end of August 2017 by the Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi as a fugitive from justice ( fugitive from justice named).

On June 19, 2015, an arrest warrant was issued by a judge in Islamabad for Musharraf, who was supposed to be responsible for the murders of cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi and his mother, Sahiba Khatoon. The murders are said to have occurred during the storming of a mosque in Islamabad in 2007, which was ordered by Musharraf. The defense had previously tried unsuccessfully to prevent the arrest warrant by pointing out Musharraf's poor health. However, the judge ruled that if Musharraf could appear repeatedly on television, he would be healthy enough to appear in court. Musharraf lived in his daughter's house in Karachi. By pointing out his poor health, he had so far been able to avoid appearing in court in the proceedings pending against him.

On December 17, 2019, Musharraf was sentenced to death in absentia for high treason by a special court in Islamabad. The verdict related to the imposition of a state of emergency and suspension of the constitution in 2007. In response, Musharraf sent a video message from a hospital in Dubai, in which he described the allegations as irrelevant. It was the first time in Pakistan's history that a senior military man responsible for a military coup was convicted of violating the constitution.

On January 13, 2020, a court declared the special court that passed the death sentence against Musharraf unconstitutional and overturned the sentence. With the government's approval, the public prosecutor's office can now initiate a new trial against Musharraf, but this is considered unlikely.

literature

  • Pervez Musharraf: In the Line of Fire - A Memoir . Free Press, New York 2006.

Web links

Commons : Pervez Musharraf  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ PAKISTAN: New army chief will focus on morale, image (English, PDF).
  2. ↑ NYtimes
  3. ↑ Schoresch Davoodi, Adama Sow: The Political Crisis of Pakistan in 2007 ( Memento of February 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) - EPU Research Papers: Issue 08/07, Stadtschlaining 2007, p. 46 f.
  4. ↑ Die Zeit : Pakistan: Triumph for Bhutto Party ( memento of January 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) of February 19, 2008.
  5. ↑ Clemens Wergin: Pakistan's government wants to depose President Musharraf at welt.de, August 7, 2008 (accessed on April 18, 2013).
  6. ↑ CNN : Musharraf says he will resign Pakistan presidency , August 18, 2008 (accessed August 18, 2008).
  7. ↑ See arrest warrant against Pakistan's ex-President Musharraf ( memento of May 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) at dw-world.de, February 12, 2011
  8. ↑ a b see Ex-President Musharraf accused in the murder case Bhutto at zeit.de, February 7, 2011 (accessed on February 12, 2011)
  9. ↑ a b return from exile: Taliban want Musharraf "to hell" carry on Spiegel Online , March 23, 2013 (accessed on 24 March 2013).
  10. ↑ Musharraf's Return: Flight of Chaos with a Dictator at Spiegel Online, March 24, 2013.
  11. ↑ Musharraf halted from running for parliament, lawyer says on CNN online, April 16, 2013.
  12. ↑ Ex-ruler Musharraf is not allowed to run ( memento from April 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) at tagesschau.de, April 16, 2013 (accessed on April 16, 2013).
  13. ↑ Pakistan: Police arrest Musharraf at faz.net, April 19, 2013 (accessed April 19, 2013).
  14. ↑ Pakistan: Lifelong Political Ban for Musharraf at faz.net, April 30, 2013 (accessed May 1, 2013).
  15. ↑ Non-bailable warrant against Musharraf in Bugti murder case In: Greater Kashmir. June 19, 2015, accessed June 19, 2015.
  16. ↑ Bugti murder: Arrest warrants of Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz, Owais Ghani issued in: The Nation, June 10, 2013, accessed June 20, 2015
  17. ↑ reuters.com
  18. ↑ Sophia Saifi, Adeel Raja: Former Pakistan leader Musharraf declared fugitive in Bhutto murder case (English). CNN, August 31, 2017, accessed August 31, 2017
  19. ↑ Musharraf's non-available arrest warrants issued In: The Nation. June 20, 2015, accessed June 20, 2015.
  20. ↑ Non-bailable warrant against Musharraf in Bugti murder case In: Greater Kashmir. June 19, 2015, accessed June 19, 2015.
  21. ^ Pervez Musharraf: Pakistan ex-leader sentenced to death for treason. BBC News, December 17, 2019, accessed December 17, 2019 .
  22. ^ A court in Pakistan overturns ex-President Musharraf's death sentence. In: derstandard.at . January 13, 2020, accessed January 13, 2020.
predecessor Office successor
Jehangir Karamat Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army
1998–2007 		Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
Mohammed Rafiq Tarar President of Pakistan
2001–2008 		Muhammad Mian Soomro
(acting)
personal data
SURNAME Musharraf, Pervez
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Musharraf, Parvez
SHORT DESCRIPTION Pakistani politician, President of Pakistan
DATE OF BIRTH August 11, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Delhi , India