Daily Times

  Former president and chief of army staff General (r) Pervez Musharraf was laid to rest on Tuesday in a military graveyard in the port city ‘with full military honours’. The former chief of army staff’s funeral prayer was held at the Malir Cantonment’s Polo Ground, shortly before his burial took place.

The funeral prayer was attended by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad, former army chiefs Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and Gen (retd) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Gen (Retd) Mirza Aslam Beg were among those attended the funeral. Politicians including MQM-P leaders Khalid Maqbool Siddiqi, Dr Farooq Sattar, PSP’s Mustafa Kamal, PML-N leader Amir Muqam, PTI leader and former Sindh governor Imran Ismail, Fawad Ch, former federal information minister Javed Jabbar, former FBR chairman Shabbar Zaidi and Musharraf’s son Bilal were also in attendance.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad as well as senior serving and retired army officers attended the funeral.

The ex-president, who passed away in Dubai on Feb 5, will be laid to rest at an army graveyard near Kala Pull, All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) spokesperson Tahir Hussain said in a statement.

On Monday night, a special plane from Dubai carrying Musharraf’s body landed at the Karachi airport. Hours before the plane landed, MP personnel, backed by the Pakistan Rangers, cordoned off Karachi airport’s old terminal. Heavy security was also seen en route to the cantonment.

Before leaving for Sindh’s capital city, his body was given Ghusl (ritual washing and shrouding of the deceased ahead of burial) in Sonapur, Dubai. Along with the body of the deceased, the widow of the ex-army chief and their children were also flown in from the Gulf state. Upon arrival, the plane was parked near the old terminal at the airport. The body and the aggrieved family were then taken to their destination from the old terminal under tight security. The bereaved family formally approached Pakistan’s consulate in Dubai on Sunday, seeking permission to shift the body. Musharraf was under treatment for amyloidosis at the American Hospital in Dubai for a long time. It is pertinent to mention here that the former president’s mother was buried in Dubai while his father was laid to rest in Karachi.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif, and other politicians had prayed for the ex-president’s forgiveness – who did not return to the country since 2016.