Pakistan’s former president General Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, has died aged 79.
The former leader – who was president between 2001 and 2008 – died in Dubai after a long illness, a statement from the country’s army said.
He had survived numerous assassination attempts, and found himself on the front line of the struggle between militant Islamists and the West.
He supported the US “war on terror” after 9/11 despite domestic opposition. In 2008 he suffered defeat in the polls and left the country six months later.
When he returned in 2013 to try to contest the election, he was arrested and barred from standing.
