On Tuesday, a sizable crowd, including active-duty and retired military personnel, attended the funeral prayers of former president and former military dictator General (R) Pervez Musharraf.
At roughly 2:00 pm, the funeral rites were conducted at the Polo Grounds Malir Garrison area. Musharraf’s body was transported on a private plane on Monday night together with his widow, son, and daughter. The special flight took longer than expected to arrive.
With full military honors, Musharraf’s body was transported to the location. After receiving the casket wrapped in the national flag, a group of army soldiers presented the guard of honor. From 1998 to 2007, Musharraf was the chief of the army staff.
Pervez Musharraf Government Era
On October 12, 1999, Musharraf took control of the country following the collapse of Nawaz Sharif’s administration in a bloodless coup. Musharraf went on to lead the nation as president from 2001 to 2008.
In the meantime, the Malir Garrison had put in place extensive security measures for the funeral. The funeral was attended by a sizable contingent of serving military officers and members of all ranks.
Mobile phones were not permitted for funeral attendees to bring with them. To protect the area and manage traffic, many soldiers were stationed there.
A Pakistan Army aircraft plane also carried out aerial surveillance of the location. The attendees endured the sweltering sun for a long to attend the burial despite the abrupt jump in temperature.
Numerous top military leaders, including General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, attended the funeral.
Ex-CJCSC General (Retd.) Ehsanul Haq, ex-COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, ex-COAS Qamar Javed Bajwa, and ex-ISI chief Lt. General (Retd.) Ahmed Shuja Pasha were among the notable retired senior service members who attended the funeral.
Other dignitaries who were present included Federal Maritime Affairs Minister Faisal Sabzwari, Adviser to Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Engineer Amir Muqam, chief of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, former Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, former Governor of State Bank of Pakistan Dr. Ishrat Hussain, former State Minister Azfar Ahsan, former SSP Malir Rao Anwaar, former chief of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan Tariq Ikram, former federal information minister Fawad Chaudhry, former Karachi Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal, former special assistant to PM Mahmood Moulvi, politicians Dr. Farooq Sattar, Shaharyar Khan Mahar and Jawed Hanif.
The MQM leader and the organization’s coordination committee members met with Musharraf’s son and conveyed their sympathies.
Musharraf’s remains was thereafter moved to the old Army Graveyard in Karachi, next to Kala Pul, where it was interred according to strict military custom. Army personnel placed floral wreaths on the grave following the funeral.
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