Pervez Musharraf should face ‘no obstacle’ in his return to Pakistan: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif

The former military dictator General who was sick Pervez Musharraf had to face the “no obstacle” in his return to Pakistan to spend his remaining life with dignity, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Saturday.

Past events should not have an influence on the former president and military rulers returned to the country, Asif said, the day after the Musharraf family confirmed that he suffered from amyloidosis, a rare disease, and he was going through a “difficult stage where recovery was not possible.”

Musharraf, 78, who ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, was charged with a high betrayal and was sentenced to death in 2019 for suspending the constitution.

Given the poor health of the Musharraf General, there should be no obstacles for him to return home. Past events should not interfere in this matter. May Allah give them health and they can spend their time with dignity in this section of life, Asif said in a tweet, in the first public statement by a senior minister from the Shehbaz Sharif government after the health condition of the Musharraf was announced to the public.

The Musharraf family clarified on Friday that he had not used a ventilator but had been hospitalized for the past three weeks. The family issued a statement after fake news about his death began to circulate on social media.

The retired General’s disease was revealed in 2018 when the Muslim League of All Pakistan announced that he suffered from amyloidosis of rare diseases, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Amilloidosis is the name for a group of serious conditions that are caused by the buildup of abnormal proteins called amyloids in organs and tissues throughout the body. The accumulation of amyloid protein (sediment) can make it difficult for organs and tissues to work well.

Foreign Party President Afzaal Siddiqui said that the condition of the Musharraf had “weakened his nervous system”. At that time he was treated in London.

The Musharraf overthrew the Nawaz Sharif government in 1999, and his former prime minister and his brother were detained. The general ruled the country until 2008.

On December 17, 2019, a special court handed over the death sentence in a high betrayal case against him. The death sentence was then canceled.

The former military rulers left the country in March 2016 for Dubai to seek medical treatment and have not returned to Pakistan since then.

david waker

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