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Musharraf staged a bloodless coup d'état and vigorously defended China-Pakistan friendship, but in his later years he became a traitor.
In 2019, former Pakistani Musharraf was sentenced to death for "treason".
However, Musharraf has been kind to Pakistan for reconstruction, and during his tenure, Pakistan has made great progress both economically and diplomatically, and has actively maintained relations with China.
So, why did he "commit treason"?What's the secret in this?
It all started with a military coup d'état in Pakistan.
On the afternoon of 12 October 1999, Musharraf flew back to his homeland after attending the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Sri Lankan army.
Unexpectedly, when the plane arrived at the airport in Karachi, Pakistan, it was forbidden to land.
The explanation given by the airport command center is:Musharraf has been removed from his post as army chief of staff by the prime minister and banned from returning home
There has been a long-standing rift between the military and civilian authorities within Pakistan, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif advocating the withdrawal of troops in the Kargil war, while the military, represented by Musharraf, took a hard line.
Sharif was therefore dissatisfied with Musharraf and directly announced his dismissal.
In order to protect the national interest, Musharraf did not follow the instructions and ordered the plane to hover over the airport and wait for the army to arrive on the ground to pick it up.
At half past six in the afternoon, troops loyal to Musharraf surrounded the ** government and the prime minister's office, seized the ** state department, and put Sharif and the cabinet members of the ministry under house arrest.
When Musharraf's plane ran out of fuel and could only fly for another five minutes, he decisively ordered the plane to be forced to land, and with the troops rushing into the airport, he walked out of the airfield and went to the Karachi garrison headquarters.
In the evening, in the panic of the people of the country, Musharraf, dressed in military uniform, appeared on television and announced the dissolution of Sharif** and the takeover by the military.
At this point, Musharraf seized the prime minister's power as a military man without firing a single shot.
But after he seized power, in order to reassure the people, he repeatedly stressed that he did not want to take power, but to save the country, and promised the people that he would ease tensions with India, overcome the economic recession, and achieve true democracy.
Subsequently, he actively enlisted the support of Talal and selected and led a new cabinet to announce his inauguration.
In order to ease the conflict between India and Pakistan, he changed his previous attitude and withdrew his troops to the border areas that had been demarcated between the two countries. Fortunately, India also responded, and the war between the two sides was eased.
And the reason why he did this was to preserve the achievements of the military coup d'état and not let the power that he had so hard to seize be disrupted by military war.
Only political stability will free up their hands to resolve territorial disputes and realize their own commitment to economic development.
After taking power, he conformed to the will of the people, first took the rotten places in the country, ordered the severe punishment of corruption, and carried out an anti-corruption clearance operation in Pakistan, cracking down on 8 billion rupees in one and two months.
At the same time, in order to support the liquidation operation, he took the lead in publicizing his own property and labeling the newly established ** as "honest and clean".
In 2001, he took office in Pakistan and actively engaged in diplomacy, jointly countered terrorism with the United States, and increased economic cooperation with China.
Under his leadership, the country's annual economic growth rate was as high as 75%, which became the highest level in Pakistan in the past 30 years.
However, this **, who has the grace of reinvention in Pakistan, has been full of controversy in his subsequent political career, and was eventually accused of "treason".
So, did Musharraf commit treason?
The first person to lead Pakistan to democracy by remote control of the coup d'état, but ultimately died of treason.
During his time in power, Musharraf not only cracked down on corruption at home and stepped up efforts to develop the economy, but also actively carried out diplomacy to enhance Pakistan's international reputation.
But in the second half of his political career, he was charged many times, saddled with countless crimes, and had to flee abroad until his death. So, what's going on here?
In the history of Pakistan, how to deal with ethnic, religious, racial and other contradictions is a necessary question for all previous sessions.
In dealing with these issues, Musharraf has been very resolute in cracking down on extremism, sectarianism and terrorism. However, this has led the Western countries that adhere to democracy to regard it as a leader.
In addition, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he chose to support the United States and jointly fight the Afghan Taliban**, which was once recognized by Pakistan, which has drawn criticism from this part of the domestic support for the Taliban**.
For a time, Musharraf's reputation at home and abroad was not very good. In this way, his position of power is threatened.
During his tenure, Musharraf not only held the army in his hands, but also served as the chief executive of the parliament and was the most powerful man in Pakistan.
But in Pakistan's constitution, a person cannot concurrently serve as chief of staff of the army and **, and if he is re-elected**, he must resign from the army.
Therefore, after former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came from prison, he set up an opposition party against Musharraf, accusing Musharraf of violating the constitution.
Under pressure from opposition parties, Musharraf resigned as army chief of staff and lost control of the army, although he was re-elected on 24 November 2007.
As a professional soldier, the loss of that uniform on his body was a big blow to Musharraf. But for the sake of national interests and future, he still chose to leave the army where he had fought for 46 years.
Unfortunately, taking off their uniforms will not satisfy the opposition.
In 2008, during China's Wenchuan** period, Musharraf immediately contacted the military to provide China with all the help he could, under tremendous pressure.
In August, when the Beijing Olympic torch arrived in Pakistan, he personally went to greet and participate in the torch relay, resolutely safeguarding the friendship between China and Pakistan.
However, just this month, he was forced to resign from his position by the opposition party. After that, his political career at home plummeted, and he was eventually forced to quit and went into exile.
In 2011, he was identified by the Pakistan Anti-Terrorism Court as being involved in former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
But in the report of the UN Independent Investigation Panel, there was not sufficient evidence to be found, and it was not determined who ** was. So Interpol did not arrest Musharraf.
Musharraf was in exile in Britain at the time, and he repeatedly said that he was not responsible for the death of the former prime minister, and he was not involved.
This is the first accusation that Musharraf has been accused of since he quit the **, and there are many more accusations like this that are not well substantiated.
In 2013, he confidently returned to China to attend the ** in May, but he was arrested by the Islamabad High Court less than a month after his return.
The court gave the grounds that he was suspected of violating the Constitution, was accused of "treason", restricted the movement of several judges in the 2007 anti-extremism campaign, illegally killed religious clerics, and more.
Faced with accusations of "treason", Musharraf, who is already 70 years old, was very disappointed and insisted that he was "not guilty".
After all, from the beginning of his joining the army, he served the motherland with enthusiasm.
So, what was Musharraf's career like?
It didn't take a single soldier to launch a coup d'état, but he was accused of "treason" for the sake of the country, just because he took off his military uniform.
Musharraf's political career has been full of ups and downs, dedicating most of his life to his homeland, but in the end he has struggled to deal with various lawsuits.
But he still maintains the image of a tough guy, refuses to accept any trumped-up accusations, and lives the rest of his life in controversy.
So, what is the final outcome of Musharraf?
In 2016, under both physical and mental pressure, Musharraf no longer had the strength to continue the fight with the opposition parties. On the grounds that he was seriously ill, he applied for medical treatment abroad and escaped from house arrest at home.
Since then, he has been recuperating in Dubai, like a sinner waiting for a verdict, helplessly waiting for an arrest warrant from his homeland that will be issued at any time.
Sure enough, in 2019, he was sentenced to death for "treason".
In fact, Musharraf's "treason" case has been on trial since 2013, and it was not until this year that he was convicted and sentenced to death.
But it didn't take long for the court to revoke his death sentence.
Although he was not sentenced to death in the end, the charge of "treason" followed him.
In the face of this accusation, Musharraf went from being strenuously opposed at first to silent, and finally could only recall the scene of his heroic killing on the battlefield when he endured the torture of illness in his later years.
He joined the army at the age of 21, participated in the Second Kashmir War between India and Pakistan at the age of 22, fought bloodily with the Indian army on the front line for 17 days, and survived the battlefield with tenacious fighting spirit.
Although he later rose in rank, he was a low-key and amiable person, never put on a show, and treated soldiers and officers equally.
This modest and peaceful attitude gradually allowed him to gain a firm foothold in the army until he was promoted to chief of staff of the army, firmly sitting at the top of the army.
In fact, in Pakistan's military tradition, Musharraf was the least likely soldier to be promoted to general.
Because he was born in India, he is a minority who has lived in India for generations. A few days before the partition of India and Pakistan, he fled with his parents to Karachi, Pakistan.
In the Pakistani army at that time, no one from the ethnic minority to which he belonged had ever had the rank of major or above.
However, Musharraf relied on his excellent military talent and fought all the way to the top position of the army as a minority soldier, becoming Pakistan's first minority general.
He was also a well-known dutiful son, and despite his busy career, he still lived with his parents in order to take care of them. He is also full of care and love for his children.
Even if he had to launch a military coup d'état in order to safeguard national interests, he strongly advocated a peaceful solution without bloodshed and sacrifice.
During his time in power, Pakistan's ** was reduced and the economy grew.
Because of its joint anti-terrorism with the United States, Pakistan also has a certain degree of support and prestige among Western countries, and in addition to its active cooperation with China, it has also established good diplomatic relations with Eastern countries.
It can be said that before those trumped-up charges were suppressed, Musharraf's image at home and abroad was positive, and the public's evaluation of him was mostly pro-people, honest and open-minded.
However, the political game has never stopped, and he may have a set of rules for leading troops, but in the face of the villain's calculations, he lacks powerful political means to fight back.
So much so that on February 5, 2023, he died of illness in Dubai with regret, and he had no chance to return to his homeland until he died.
Life and death have been decided, merit and sin, let the people of Pakistan comment.
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