The 64-year old battle-tested commando, who is set to be re-elected for a second term in the Presidential poll boycotted by several Opposition parties, faces plummeting popularity, hostility from Islamic radicals and increasing US pressure.

The military ruler, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 by ousting then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has been facing widespread protests ever since he attempted to sack Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

In his chequered rule, Musharraf has survived three assassination attempts.

"I call myself lucky," he says.

Known to be a tough soldier, Musharraf would often ask his men to lie close to railway tracks in the face of an oncoming train to test their nerves.

Musharraf rose through the ranks and became the Army Chief when Gen Jehangir Karamat resigned in 1998. Sharif had appointed Musharraf, superseding two senior military figures.