By Shaneer N. Siddiqui
Dubai, Feb 6 (IANS) The funeral prayers of former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf will be held on Tuesday. A source in the know of things said the prayers will be held at Karachi in Pakistan at the Polo Ground Malir Cantt. The former President will be laid to rest at the Army Cemetery,
Musharraf left Pakistan in 2008 and since then, he has been shuttling between Dubai, London and the US. Since 2016, he has been living permanently in Dubai.
There were two reasons for shifting to Dubai. Firstly, his guest lecture sessions in the US and UK were almost over, and secondly, since he was suffering from a rare disease — Amyloidosis, Musharraf could not be treated at any hospital in Pakistan.
He was undergoing treatment for this disease at the American Hospital in Dubai. Also, the disease is treated only in the hospital of University College London in Britain.
What was Pervez Musharraf’s last wish?
I met Pervez Musharraf 3-4 times between 2017-2019 when he was in good health and often used to interact with the media.
His only wish was to get a chance to go back to Pakistan just once.
Born in Delhi, India, he wanted only one thing in his last time that once he got a chance to go back to Pakistan.
During my first interaction with Musharraf, I asked “you have ruled a country… but what is there in your heart that you wish it could be more”? He replied: “I want to go back to Pakistan, at least one chance should be given to go back to that land.” His wish, however, is being fulfilled after his death.
Musharraf had high hopes that after the formation of Imran Khan’s government, he could get some respite in the case of treason and he could go back to Pakistan. But he was sentenced to death in 2019. It was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a former military ruler faced trial for treason. The death sentence, however, was later cancelled by the Lahore High Court.
In 2019, I met Pervez Musharraf after his death sentence to find his side, but he refused to speak on camera, and it looked like the decision had come as a blow to the former Pakistan president.
Musharraf usually lived in his Dubai penthouse with his manager, guards and staff, while his son and daughter lived in the UK and Pakistan. A general who was always surrounded by the army, in his last time, away from his loved ones, got into the arms of death alone.
Tabish Zaidi, a close aide of Musharraf in Dubai, said: “Being close to him over the years in Dubai, I met him on various occasions and always found him concerned about Pakistan. He told me in the last meeting a few months back that he did whatever he could to create a better and more prosperous state for present and future generations.”
–IANS
shaneer/pgh
