Following are reactions to the death on Sunday of former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf:
FAWAD CHAUDHRY, A FORMER MUSHARRAF AIDE AND CURRENTLY A SENIOR LEADER OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN’S PARTY
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“He is called a military dictator, but there has never been a stronger democratic system than that under him… Pervez Musharraf led Pakistan at a very difficult time, and Pakistanis believe the era of his reign was one of the best in Pakistan’s history.”
SHASHI THAROOR, INDIAN POLITICIAN, SAID ON TWITTER
“Once an implacable foe of India, he became a real force for peace 2002-2007. I met him annually in those days at the UN & found him smart, engaging & clear in his strategic thinking. RIP”
MALEEHA LODHI, AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES 1999-2002, TOLD REUTERS
“General Musharraf faced many challenges but of them the three crisis he navigated with much prudence were the aftermath of 9/11, the year-long Indian military mobilization on the border with Pakistan and the AQ Khan affair.”
SHUJA NAWAZ, AN ANALYST AT THE SOUTH ASIA CENTER AT THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL IN WASHINGTON D.C., TOLD REUTERS
“Musharraf was a very smart general who leveraged the U.S. need for a regional base to prosecute the war in Afghanistan to his personal advantage. He failed to build on his early popularity to effect sustainable economic and political reforms … He failed to understand that his real power came from his uniform.
MOSHARRAF ZAIDI, CEO OF TABADLAD, AN ISLAMABAD-BASED THINK TANK
“The most important legacy Gen. Musharraf leaves behind predates his time as president. It was his planning and execution of the Kargil War (against India) – against the judgment of military officers that preceded him and initially unbeknownst to the elected leaders at the time. The 1999 Kargil War permanently altered … Pakistan.”
TEHREEK-E-TALIBAN, SAID IN A STATEMENT
“This was the infamous army chief who sold off the country’s honor and respect, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui (may Allah bless her) by handing her over to the United States for a few dollars, a dark chapter of selling daughters was created in history.”
Tehreek-E-Taliban is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border.
Aafia Siddiqui is a Pakistani neuroscientist who is serving an 86-year U.S. prison sentence on a 2010 conviction for shooting at soldiers and FBI agents.
(Reporting by Gibran Peshimam, Charlotte Greenfield, Ariba Shahid, and Saud Mehsud Editing by Christopher Cushing and Frances Kerry)