Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif reacts on Musharraf's demise; this is what he said

PTI

London, February 5

“To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return” - this is how Nawaz Sharif reacted on Sunday to the demise of Pakistan’s ex-military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, the former prime minister’s arch-rival.

Musharraf, 79, who was living in a self-imposed exile in the UAE since 2016, died at the American Hospital in Dubai following a prolonged illness.

Taking to Twitter, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Sharif, who is currently based in London, wrote in Arabic: “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun” with the hashtag ‘Pervez Musharraf.

The verse loosely translated as: To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. Muslims recite this verse mainly when they hear someone has died.

Nawaz Sharif was toppled as premier by Musharraf in a bloodless coup in 1999. He was sentenced to life by a court during Musharraf’s regime and was later exiled to Saudi Arabia on the intervention of the Gulf Kingdom.

When Nawaz Sharif, his bete noire, whom he deposed in the 1999 coup – returned to power in 2013, he initiated a treason trial against Musharraf.

Interestingly, the current Pakistan Prime Minister and younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, condoled Musharraf’s death but also said that, “Praying for the forgiveness of the deceased and patience of the family.”

Musharraf served as president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Later, he founded the party All Pakistan Muslim League in 2010.

He fled Pakistan in 2016, spending his final years in exile in the UAE.

Musharraf, who was born in New Delhi in 1943 and fled to Pakistan in 1947, was the last military dictator to rule Pakistan.