Pervez Musharraf (Urdu: پرویز مشرف) (born August 11, 1943), Nishan-e-Imtiaz
(NI), Hilal-i-Imtiaz (HI), is the former President of Pakistan. Previously, he
was Chief Executive of Pakistan as well as former Chief of Army Staff of the
Pakistan Army.[1] On 18 August 2008, in a nationally-televised speech, he
announced his resignation as president of Pakistan.
He seized power in 1999 by effecting a military coup d'état and has suspended
the constitution of Pakistan twice since then. After announcing his intention to
combat extremists, Western countries (including the United States and the United
Kingdom) have switched from sanctions to active support through military and
monetary aid. He took power on October 12, 1999, ousting Nawaz Sharif, the
elected Prime Minister, dismissed the national and provincial legislative
assemblies, assumed the title of Chief Executive and became Pakistan's de facto
head of government, thereby becoming the fourth Army chief of Pakistan to have
assumed executive control. Later in 2001, Musharraf appointed himself to the
office of President of Pakistan.
On November 3, 2007, only days before a bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
was to decide on a petition challenging the constitutional validity of his
re-election as president in the controversial October 2007 elections, he, as
Chief of Army Staff, suspended the constitution, jailed several justices and
lawyers of the supreme court including Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry,
ordered the arrest of political dissidents and human rights activists, and shut
down all private television channels.[2] On November 3, 2007, Musharraf declared
a state of emergency in Pakistan which lasted until December 15, 2007. During
this time, the constitution of the country was suspended.[3][4]
On November 24, 2007, the Pakistan Election Commission confirmed his re-election
as President.[5]
On August 18, 2008, Pervez Musharraf resigned from the post of President of
Pakistan under impeachment pressure from the coalition government.
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