(ANSA) - ISLAMABAD, 05 FEB - The former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf died after a long illness, he was 79 years old.
He was president from 2001 to 2008 and author of the 1999 coup.
The former Pakistani president died in a Dubai hospital where he was being treated.
Musharraf had come to power in a coup in 1999 that overthrew the government of Nawaz Sharif.
In 2008 he resigned to avoid impeachment.
Since then he has spent most of his time in self-imposed exile in the UK and the Middle East.
Musharraf was a key US ally in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, his time in power notorious for oppression and rampant human rights abuses, especially in recent years.
In 2007 he suspended the constitution, imposed martial law, dismissed the chief justice of the supreme court and arrested activists and lawyers, causing mass protests.
After stepping down in 2008, Musharraf returned from self-imposed exile in March 2013 in a disastrous attempt to contest a seat in that year's general election.
High treason proceedings against him began in 2014, but in 2016 Musharraf was allowed to leave the country on medical grounds.
In 2019, he was found guilty of treason for suspending the constitution and imposing a state of emergency in 2007 and sentenced to death.
(HANDLE).
