Former Pakistani President and former Chief of Army Staff, Pervez Musharraf, seized power in Pakistan with a bloodless coup on 12 October 1999 after former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, attempted to force him in exile.
After the events of 11 September 2001, Musharraf aligned himself with the US and their "war on terror" and against the homegrown Islamic extremists.
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On 9 March 2007, Musharraf suspended the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, on corruption...
more »Former Pakistani President and former Chief of Army Staff, Pervez Musharraf, seized power in Pakistan with a bloodless coup on 12 October 1999 after former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, attempted to force him in exile.
After the events of 11 September 2001, Musharraf aligned himself with the US and their "war on terror" and against the homegrown Islamic extremists.
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On 9 March 2007, Musharraf suspended the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, on corruption charges, sparking nation-wide demonstrations and diminishing his influence and authority.
Throughout early 2007, clerics and students of the infamous Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) were accused of waging a campaign of intimidation fear in Islamabad, as they intended to implement their own brand of Sharia (fundamentalist Islamic) law in Pakistan's capital and threatened to unleash a wave of suicide bombers in the event of government resistance.
This culminated into the Lal Masjid siege on 3 July 2007, when fire-fights erupted outside the mosque between police and militants. On 10 July, government troops stormed the mosque, ending the siege.
With the growing threat from militants and his weakened political control, Musharraf implemented a State of Emergency on 3 November 2007, replacing Supreme Court judges with his hand-picked board.
During the emergency rule, Musharraf removed himself as Cheif of the Army, personally selecting his predecessor.
Musharraf ended the emergency rule on 15 December 2007 and vowed to hold nationwide elections by early January. On 27 December, former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated by an unknown gunman after a political rally, leading to further unrest and resentment against Musharraf and his political allies.
Elections held on 18 February 2008, were a crushing defeat for Musharraf as rival political parties took control and vowed to remove him from office and impeach him.
On 18 August 2008, Musharraf announced his resignation as Pakistan's President.
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