Pervez Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf (Urdu: پرویز مشرف, born 11 August 1943), is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and 10th President of Pakistan as well as 10th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled Pakistan as Chief Executive from 1999–2001 and as President from 2001-08. In the face of impeachment, he resigned on 18 August 2008.
After years of military service, he rose to prominence when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed him as the Chief of Army Staff in October 1998. Musharraf was the strategic mastermind behind the Kargil infiltration and then later played a vital role in the Afghanistan civil war (1996-2001) where he sent thousands of young Pakistan Army and paramilitary staff to participate in the war against the Northern Alliance. After months of contentious relations with Sharif, Musharraf took power through a bloodless military coup, and placed him in under house-arrest, later shifting him Adiala Jail.
As Pakistan's head of state, he was a U.S. ally in the War on Terror. He was credited with the development of Pakistan's economy during the early years of his rule. His limited popularity suffered after his suspension of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and the Lal Masjid siege. His attempt to institute emergency rule failed as calls for his impeachment escalated. The return of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif from exile fast-tracked the nation towards parliamentary democracy ending Musharraf's reign.
In February 2011, a Pakistani court issued an arrest warrant for him because of his alleged involvement in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. As of June 2011, he lives in self-exile in London but has vowed to return for the next election. He has announced that he intends to return to Pakistan on 23 March 2012.