Pervez Musharraf Born August 11, 1943 in Mohallah Kacha Saad Ullah, Old Delhi. The son of a diplomat, Musharraf was raised in Karachi, Pakistan, and Turkey. His mother received her Masters degree from Lucknow University. Musharraf has two children, Ayla and Bilal, and both are happily married. He has two grand daughters from Ayla; a grandson and a grand daughter from Bilal.
A graduate of Command and Staff College, Quetta and the National Defence College, General Pervez Musharraf also distinguished himself at the Royal College of Defence Studies, in the United Kingdom.
He was a member of the Pakistan Military Academys elite Artillery Regiment in the 1960s and fought in the 1965 war. Musharraf served as Company Commander of the special service Commando Battalion in the 1971 war. He promoted to Major General in 1991 and to Lieutenant General in 1995.
In 1999, after Prime Minister Sharif attempted to remove him, Musharraf took power as dictator of Pakistan in a bloodless coup d'tat. With a promise to restore democracy, he assumed the title of President on June 20, 2001. A controversial referendum in 2002 extended his rule for five years.
Throughout his military career, Musharraf served on several appointments, including Deputy Military Secretary and Director General Military Operations. He was promoted to the rank of General and Chief of Army Staff in 1998. The following year, he was named Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, a position he held until 2001.
In September 11 terror attacks, the United States sought Musharrafs support, promising more than $1 billion in aid to Pakistan,
one of the only countries in the world to formally recognize the
Taliban. With a vision for a modern, democratic, nonfundamentalist
Islamic Pakistan, Musharraf helped oust the Taliban from his country.
