Rise and fall of Kargil War villain Pervez Musharraf

After his failed misadventure in Kargil, Musharraf deposed the then Prime Minister Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999.

Islamabad, Feb 05: Pakistan's former military dictator General Pervez Musharraf, the architect of the Kargil conflict, died following a prolonged illness on Sunday. He was 79.

The tough-talking four-star general was the main architect of the Kargil War that took place months after then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif signed a historic peace accord with his Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lahore.

Disguised as irregular fighters, Pakistani troops infiltrated across the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kargil sector, triggering a border conflict that ended disastrously for the Pakistani side. In addition to suffering huge casualties at the hands of the Indian army and air force.

After his failed misadventure in Kargil, Musharraf deposed the then Prime Minister Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999 and ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008 in various positions - first as the chief executive of Pakistan and later as the President.

Musharraf, who announced elections in 2008 under domestic and international pressure, was forced to resign as president following the polls and went into self-imposed exile in Dubai.

In 2010, he formed his own party, All Pakistan Muslim League and declared himself as the party President. He voiced his opinion of actively taking part in Pakistan's politics sometime in the future.

He returned to Pakistan in March 2013 to contest polls after living in self-exile for about five years, but was hauled to court in different cases - including the 2007 assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, treason under article 6 of Pakistan constitution and murder of Bugti tribe chief Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.

In 2019, Musharraf was sentenced to death in absentia by a special court which found him guilty of high treason, for imposing a state of emergency on November 3, 2007, by keeping the Constitution in abeyance.

The judgment angered the country's powerful Army which has ruled over Pakistan for most the period since its existence. It was the first time a former top military official had faced such a sentence for treason in Pakistan.

Pervez Musharraf relations with India

Throughout his career, Pervez Musharraf had a complex relationship with India.

Musharraf had visited India for the failed Agra summit in 2001 and made two more visits in 2005 as President to watch an India-Pakistan One-day Cricket match and in 2009 to attend a media event after shedding power. Musharraf, the second of three brothers, was born in Delhi on August 11, 1943.

While Musharraf attempted to improve bilateral relations by engaging in peace talks, the 2002 standoff brought the two nations to the brink of war.

The 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were carried out by Pakistan-based militants, further strained the relationship.

Parvez Musharraf's efforts ultimately proved to be unsuccessful, and tensions between India and Pakistan continue to this day.

with PTI inputs