International Desk: Former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf passed away on Sunday after a protracted battle with a rare health condition called amyloidosis. He was 79.

Musharraf, who served as the army chief for almost nine years (1999-2008), became the 10th president of Pakistan in 2001 and held the position until early 2008.

He was born in pre-Partition Delhi on August 11, 1943. After the partition, his family settled in Karachi where he attended Saint Patrick’s School. Later, he joined the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul and graduated from the institution in 1964. He was subsequently commissioned in the Pakistan Army.

His first battlefield experience came during the 1965 Indo-Pak war and he served in the elite Special Services Group (SSG) from 1966-1972. During the 1971 war with India, Musharraf was a company commander of an SSG commando battalion. After 1971, he continued to excel in several military assignments and gained rapid promotions within the army.

In October 1998, he was appointed the chief of army staff by the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif. A year later, he overthrew Sharif’s government in a bloodless coup and later became the country’s president.

On October 12, 1999, troops took over the Prime Minister House after Sharif prevented Musharraf from landing at Karachi airport upon his journey back from Sri Lanka.

On finding out, Musharraf declared a state of emergency, suspended the Constitution and assumed the role of chief executive. There were no organised protests against the coup within Pakistan but the measure was thoroughly criticised by the international community. In June 2001, Musharraf became the president of Pakistan.