biography
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1943– )
|
| biography:
| Pakistani military leader and president (1999– ), born in New Delhi, NC India. He emigrated with his family to Karachi, Pakistan in 1947, when Pakistan was separated from India. On leaving college in Lahore he joined the army and was a career soldier for 35 years. He fought in the 1965 and 1971 wars against India and was awarded a medal for bravery in 1965. After graduating from the Army Command and Staff College, Quetta and the Royal College of Defence Studies, Britain, he rose through the ranks after holding posts in the infantry, artillery, and commando units. In 1998 he was appointed chief of the army by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharrif and supported the Pakistani invasion of the Indian-held territory of Jammu–Kashmir (1999). Angered by the decision to withdraw from the territory, he seized power after learning that he had been sacked as army chief. He became head of the military government, suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament, and established a National Security Council. In 2001, he played a major role in relation to the international movement against terrorism, focused on adjoining Afghanistan. In 2002 he received overwhelming support in a controversial nationwide referendum to extend his term of office for another five years. In May 2002 he was again at the centre of international attention, during the confrontation between Pakistan and India over Jammu–Kashmir. |
|
|
