Abstract

Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and ruled Pakistan until 2008, became a pivotal U.S. ally after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Under pressure from the Bush administration (including threats of being treated as a hostile state), Musharraf agreed to support the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime, which had harbored al-Qaeda. Key actions included allowing U.S. forces to use Pakistani airspace and bases for operations, sharing intelligence and arresting hundreds of al-Qaeda suspects (over 700 in the early years), and receiving billions in U.S. aid—about $20 billion between 2001 and 2018, much of it military. Critics, including Afghan and Pakistani voices, accused him of a "double game": publicly cooperating with the U.S.