After seizing power in 1999, General Pervez Musharraf proclaimed himself Pakistan’s “chief executive”. Over the next decade, he likened himself to a range of historical leaders, including Kemal Atatürk, Napoleon Bonaparte and Abraham Lincoln. He believed he was Pakistan’s saviour, and maintained that only his military approach could rescue the country from a self-serving political establishment.
The general, who has died aged 79, set out to free Pakistan from the “sham democracy” of its civilian elite, and to restore the nation’s economy. During nearly ten years in power between 1999 and 2008, he championed “enlightened moderation”, a term he dreamt up to marry Islam and secularism and justify his rule. But his strategy failed, and he resigned in disgrace in 2008. He spent most of his final years practically confined to his Dubai home, in self-imposed exile.
Musharraf came to power in a bloodless military coup in 1999 that began as he circled over Karachi in a civilian airliner running short of fuel. He had learnt on board that he had been sacked by the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif and would not be allowed to land. But a fellow general took control of the airport, and the army ushered in Pakistan’s fourth era of military rule in the 52 years since its creation.