Collection of photos shared to Musharraf's Facebook page.
Keeping the page more personal and less official, Musharraf currently has over 800,000 likes and over 200,000 'talking about this' (a metric that gauges user engagement levels) on his official Facebook page.
The number of likes exceed those on Imran Khan's official page which has 688,416 likes and over 70,000 'talking about this'.
Musharraf's page gained momentum when the former dictator announced a "grand" return to Pakistan, ending his self-imposed exile. Photographs -- apparently taken from cell phone cameras -- have kept Musharraf's followers updated and entertained with his activities.
The engaging Facebook updates began on March 24 when Musharraf shared a Photoshopped image of his arrival at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.
I will arrive in Karachi today, March 24th 2013, at 1pm and address a public rally at the airport at 5pm in the evening. PM
Musharraf then shared a picture of himself leaving his home in Dubai for the airport.
Leaving my house in Dubai to begin my journey home
For those who still did not believe Musharraf was returning, the former dictator shared a picture of himself sitting in the plane destined for Karachi.
Settled in my seat on the plane to begin my journey home. Pakistan First!
This was only the beginning. Musharraf went on a picture-sharing spree covering every event and activity he undertook -- including some very offbeat choices. In the photo share below, Musharraf made light of Taliban threats against him.
Taliban threat? NOT ON MY WATCH!!!
On the morning of March 28 (today), the former dictator did not forget his obligation to share a "Good Morning" picture with his followers.
Starting my day with a workout. Feel very energized.
While Musharraf's political future remains questionable, the leader's online 'charisma' will ensure high levels of engagement for some time to come.
COMMENTS (38)
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@Rasheed: I completely agree with you. This nation does not deserve Pervez Musharraf. It would be nation's loss if they won't vote for PM.
@Musharraf: The same "overseas" Pakistanis keep your Pakistan afloat. Their remittances of $14 Billion a year keep Pakistan from becoming another Somalia.
It is this same group of overseas Pakistanis that has seen the ruining of Pakistan and have also experienced the development overseas during the very same time Pakistan has declined. They see the difference between Musharraf and the chorrs that you have elected as your leaders like day and night. They know that Musharraf is better than any of the jokers you have on the scene.
I hope Imran Khan is different, but his lack of experience is downright problematic, but still worth a chance.
@RizwanKhan: hahaha...Self glorifying lies..
If intelligent and educated Pakistanis do not take part- individually and jointly - in the election campaign for Parvez Musharraf one of the corrupt politicians- Nawaz Sharif the convicted felon, Imran Khan the bowler or some other ambitious politician who keeps counting money he will collect- will form the next government. It will lead to a disaster. The status quo in terms of internal security, economy, education and health issues is not sustainable. Only a man with a strong vision and backing of the military will be able to take the nation out of the current state of paralysis. I ask intelligent and educated Pakistanis to get out of their homes and work for Musharraf. The nation needs them. Munir
“Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.” Friedrich Nietzsche
The quote above probably explains why many people shamelessly indulge in the character assassination of Musharraf and spew ad hominem attacks on the person who in his 9 years tenure resurrected the country from the economic morass, and handled the domestic and international threats to the country like a visionary leader.
It's quite likely that PM may not win big in the coming elections ( if at all these are held) and that is what this nation should mull over..
It would be the nation's loss not Musharraf's!
Pakistan has a horde of politicians of all shades but has not been able to produce a visionary leader. .
Rasheed
Mushi might lead on fb likes(I still doubt that) but in real world, he is just a pebble against the sea of Imran Khan.
@PTI Supporters - PLEASE get a life. Stop getting competitive at every miserable opportunity.
strong textSocial Media is reflection of the society and recently the power of social media has been duly accepted by all institutions of the state .PERVEZ MUSHARRAF IS NO DOUBT A TRUE LEADER
@Musharraf - Just for your lack of information, majority of the overseas Pakistanis are much more informed and well equipped with multiple sources of information than you can ever imagine. They don't just rely on the "Hamid Mir and company's" version of national news, but they also keep themselves well updated about the international politics and an unbiased version of news coming from Pakistan, by looking at multiple resources before making a final call. They get to meet a lot of people here from other communities, evaluate situations from multiple angles, thus making their judgments more practical from every point of view. I would say that it's the people like you who live in a small world of conspiracies and doubts and keep moving in circles with same sources of information and easily fall for fake propaganda promoted by the biased Pakistani media.
And about those "who only come to visit Pakistan for vacations", don't even bother reading news about Pakistan or care about president Musharraf or even come and comment here on ET. So, better luck next time with your lack of information on the topic "Overseas Pakistanis".
@Khalid Imtiaz: Really? Although Pakistanis did not have anything to do with 911, did you forget that almost 100% of the masterminds, including the very Bin Laden himself, were found in Pakistan? It is amazing how narrow some Pakistanis knowledge is. It is one thing to be anti American, it is another to be totally ignorant of the facts. Had Musharraf not taken action to provide help to US and NATO the consequences in 2001/2002 would have been distastrous. It is easy to say we should have been neutral when in fact that was not even an option in the afternmath of 911 when the whole 911 fleet was sitting in Pakistan, and taliban fighting NATO had escaped to Pakistan as well.
@Fedup Pakistani: So your so called wardrobe is all made in pakistan?
Mush is the man...I like his confidence ...and vocabulary lol.
Juggler succeeded to overlap his sins by involving people debate over his political career and forget what he did with country,constitution and judges
Ref: President Musharraf's return to Pakistan: To compare the parties engaged in the election campaign just compare the past performance of their leaders. Mr. Nawaz Sharif was elected twice as Prime Minister and twice dismissed on grounds of corruption, nepotism and incompetence. He lacked the least understanding of the military in a stable country, let alone in an unstable Pakistan. During his two terms as prime minister his personal wealth increased ten or twelve fold. He lacks academic qualifications. Mr. Imran Khan knows more about bowling than politics. Just read his autobiography and you will find how shallow his knowledge of the nation is. President Musharraf enjoyed the backing of the military. During his tenure the nation's economy improved immensely. Whether you like his personal style of brinkmanship or not the nation needs a strong hand at the top at this critical juncture in Pakistan's history. Root for him. Munir
If you still call Musharaf a dictator than I would call IK a cricketer-not politician. Anyways, Khan's too naive to do politics.
Musharaf is not working with a whole team of Social Media Junkies :) He is a one man army.
Musharraf is out of favor in Media and being prevented by Judiciary through its marionette Lawyers from participating freely in the election campaign. This attitude has the endorsement of PML N and PPP too. Fake cases in independent, free and biased courts is more treacherous than Kangaroo courts. musharraf must be given a level playing field for elections.
Musharraf was a good leader and could still become one...but he does not have a tribe to back him up unlike his rivals...so he may not succeed in Pakistan's Tribal Politics...sad.
@Fedup Pakistani: oh guess what, the computer you typed on is also not made in Pakistan.
With PTI in a close embrace with JI etc, Musharraf is the only sane liberal voice left in Pakistan's politics
@jiyala: I cannot believe you made such an idiotic point. You do realize most of the people liking those additional pages are the same ones that liked Imran's page. Sometimes I wonder if you people even think before commenting.
Oh go back to Dubai and i join forces with Bilawal and teach him some urdu please.
Does Mushrraf also command a dedicated and paid social media Troll Division?
He isnt a dictator in anyway. I smell a sense of bias when someone writes this. If people dont know his accession was validated by required entities. This term has made itself a laughing stock! People who use it dont know in reality what does it really mean. See Idi Amin or Augusto Pinochet's terms. Musharraf was and is still a way better democrat then the current civilian dictators.
Childish and craving attention. He should not live in past days and face a new reality that is Imran Khan all the way!!!
For All the bad things which happened to Pakistan since 9/11 the responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of Mush due to his autocratic decision to side with the US rather than remaining NEUTRAL. None of those hijackers of 9/11 planes had any link with Pakistan.
Inspite of his face book popularity, we all know it well that Musharaf has no place in Pakistani politics.
Everything that he is wearing is not made in Pakistan....and we abuse the west....
Facebook or no facebook, Musharraf all the way
Reason for being most popular on social media especially on FB is Musharraf has more achievements and sophisticated content to share on his FB than Imran Khan. On Imran's page we usually find some real non serious material including political slogans, maligning of PML N and other parties etc. PTI Media management wing must realize that they can't win elections by maligining others but by sharing their achievements (if any).
No need to get jealous now Mr. Zawar. Of course Mr. Imran Khan is charismatic too.
And what about APML? Or will Musharraf contest elections for each and every NA seat himself?
like his trainers though!