ISLAMABAD, Feb 6, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - The body of Pakistan's exiled former 
military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who became a key US ally during the "war on 
terror", is expected to be repatriated 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.

Senior officials who asked not to be named said his body would be repatriated 
on Monday, with a burial expected later in the day.

Musharraf seized power in a 1999 bloodless coup 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 shoring up his power, as well as rampant rights abuses including 
rounding up opponents during his nearly nine-year rule.

"In the end he left Pakistanis with a deep distaste for direct military rule 
-- so that even though the military wields much power behind the scenes now, 
it does not want to be in power directly again," Madiha Afzal, an analyst 
from the Brookings Institution, told AFP.

Musharraf became Washington's chief regional ally during the invasion of 
neighbouring Afghanistan, a decision which put him in the crosshairs of 
Islamist militants, who made several attempts on his life.

But it also earned Pakistan a huge influx of foreign aid which bolstered the 
economy.

In Pakistan, where the military remains supremely powerful and enjoys 
significant support, Musharraf is a divisive figure.

"There was good in him," 69-year-old Naeem Ul Haq Satti told AFP in an 
Islamabad marketplace.

"But his one act, which will be remembered throughout history, was he 
violated the constitution," the retired civil servant added. "The most 
important thing a country has is its constitution."

Musharraf had been suffering from a rare disease known as Amyloidosis and 
last summer his family said he had no prospect of recovery.

Senior military chiefs "express heartfelt condolences on sad demise of 
General Pervez Musharraf", a brief statement released by the military's media 
wing said Sunday.