The body of Pakistan’s exiled former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who was a key US ally in the “war on terror”, was requested to be returned on Monday.
Musharraf, who fled Pakistan in 2016 for medical treatment after a travel ban was lifted, died on Sunday aged 79 in Dubai, after a long illness.
A senior official who asked not to be named said the body would be repatriated on Monday.
The funeral will be held on Tuesday, a military source told AFP, and is expected to be buried in Karachi, where the family settled after leaving Old Delhi after the partition of the Indian subcontinent.
Musharraf staged a bloodless coup in 1999 and was acting simultaneously as Pakistan’s army chief, chief executive, and president when the 9/11 attacks on the United States took place.
The general twice suspended the constitution and was accused of rigging a referendum to consolidate his power, as well as numerous rights violations, including rounding up opponents during his nearly nine-year rule.
“In the end they left Pakistan with a distaste for direct military rule – so even though the military has a lot of power behind the scenes now, they don’t want to be in direct power anymore,” said Madiha Afzal, an analyst at Brookings. Institution, told AFP.
Musharraf became Washington’s main regional ally when it invaded Afghanistan in 2001, a decision that brought him into line with Islamist militants, who made several attempts to survive.
But Pakistan also received a large influx of foreign aid, which bolstered the economy.
In Pakistan, where the military remains very powerful and enjoys significant support, Musharraf is a divisive figure.
“There is good in him,” 69-year-old Naeem Ul Haq Satti told AFP in an Islamabad market.
“But one act, which will be remembered in history, is that he violated the constitution,” added the retired civil servant. “The most important thing in a country is the constitution.”
Musharraf suffers from a rare disease known as amyloidosis and last summer, his family said he had little prospect of recovery.
Senior military commanders “sadly condole the death of General Pervez Musharraf”, a brief statement released by the military’s media wing said Sunday.