Dubai - Pakistan's former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf passed away on Sunday in a Dubai hospital, according to media reports.

The military ruler had been undergoing treatment at American Hospital Dubai. Musharraf, 79, was suffering from amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body.

Pervez Musharraf, the four-star general who ruled Pakistan for nearly a decade after seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1999, oversaw rapid economic growth and attempted to usher in socially liberal values in the conservative Muslim country.

Pervez Musharraf was born on August 11, 1943 in Delhi as the son of Syed Musharrafuddin who was in the civil service during the British rule. After partition, he came to Karachi, Pakistan. After studying and training at the Royal College of Defense Studies and the Pakistan Military Academy, he joined the Pakistan Army in 1964.

Twice trained in the British Army. Musharraf, who was a second lieutenant in the 1965 Indo-Pak war, led the Pakistani army in the Khemkaran sector. He was a company commander of a commando battalion in the Indo-Pak war of 1971 and has received high honors for his military achievements.

He assumed the post of Chief Executive after imposing martial law in the country in 1999 and served as the president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008.

He resigned in 2008 to avoid impeachment proceedings. Wife: Sehba Musharraf. Has two children.

He returned to Pakistan in 2013 after resigning the post of President and coming to Dubai. He has been in Dubai for treatment since March 2016 while facing trial in the case of declaring emergency in the country in violation of constitutional provisions and the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.