Plane carrying Musharraf’s body brings him back from exile for Pakistan burial

A special plane transporting the body of Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Karachi amid tight security, immigration officials said.

Family members were also on board when the plane landed on Monday at the airport in the city where he will be buried on Tuesday.

Mr Musharraf, who died at the age of 79, seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 by ousting the elected government of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Mr Musharraf died in Dubai on Sunday after a prolonged illness.

During his tenure as president, he made Pakistan a key ally of Washington in the war on terror after the September 11 terror attacks in the US.

His support angered militants who at least twice tried to assassinate him in the city of Rawalpindi in 2003, but he escaped unhurt.

Mr Musharraf was forced to resign in 2008 by the party of former president Asif Ali Zardari when his allies lost parliamentary elections.

Pakistan later allowed him to leave the country on bail to travel to Dubai in 2016 for medical treatment. He remained there after being sentenced to death for treason.

Pakistan last year said he would not be arrested if his family wanted to bring him back home, but his doctors and family said his treatment was not available in Pakistan.