Pervez Musharraf was one of Pakistan’s better dictators
Pakistan’s former military leader died on February 5th, aged 79
When Pervez Musharraf was named army chief of Pakistan in 1998, he was a surprising choice. A hot-headed former artilleryman, known for bravery under fire and occasional indiscipline, he was third on the list of generals that Nawaz Sharif, the then prime minister, was given to pick from. He was also an outlier in a top brass dominated by ethnic Punjabis and Pushtuns. Mr Musharraf hailed from Karachi; his Urdu-speaking family had migrated there in 1947 from Delhi, where he was born. Mr Sharif, it was clear, saw him as a weak army chief he could control.
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This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “Whisky and moderation”
Obituary February 11th 2023
From the February 11th 2023 edition
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