In May, the Pakistan supreme court endorses Musharraf's coup, but rules that fresh elections must be held within three years.

Following intense lobbying by Washington, Musharraf permits Sharif to go into exile in Saudi Arabia in December 2000.

Musharraf looks at Cairo from the Salaheddin Citadel in April 2000. In an interview, he called for a negotiated settlement to the Osama bin Laden problem, a far cry from what he said after he became America's 'most dependable ally' post 9/11.

Photograph: Marwan Naamani/AFP/Getty Images

On rediff: US Saudi effort saved Sharif from death