The transfer of General (ret.) Pervez Musharraf’s body from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan has been pushed back again.
In Sonapur, Dubai, the body was given Ghusl, which is a ritual washing and wrapping of the dead before they are buried.
Aviation officials say that a special flight will leave Dubai at 8:30 p.m. (Pakistan time) and land at 10:15 p.m. at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.
It had been said before that the body of the person who died would be flown to Pakistan on Monday at 11:30 a.m. (Pakistan time). But diplomatic sources later said that there had been a delay and that the special jet would leave for Pakistan at 7pm.
The body is being sent from Dubai to Karachi on a special plane that took off from Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport. Sohba Musharraf, the ex-wife, president’s and their three children would also be on the plane.
The task of bringing the ex-army chief’s ashes was given to a plane called A319. This plane was given “special flight” status.
On Sunday, Musharraf’s family went to the Pakistani consulate in Dubai to ask for permission to move his body back to his home country.
It’s important to note that the former president’s mother was laid to rest in Dubai, while his father was buried in Karachi.
Sources have also said that the former president’s funeral prayer will be held on Tuesday at 1:45 p.m. at the Polo Ground in Malir Cantt, Karachi.
General (ret.) Musharraf died yesterday in Dubai, where he had been getting treatment for a long time at the American Hospital in Dubai.
Not long after that, the Pakistani consulate in Dubai gave a “no objection certificate” (NOC) for moving Musharraf’s dead body to Pakistan.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson for the Foreign Office (FO), also confirmed that the FO was helping with the transportation of the ex-dead COAS’s body.