KARACHI: Pakistan's former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf condemned the Orlando shooting, saying 'this is a sobering reminder that extremism and terrorism are on the rise.'

Musharraf, who is facing court cases at home but left Pakistan in March for treatment abroad, says on his Facebook page the world must "address the root causes of global terrorism to suck the oxygen out of the extremist narrative of hate, intolerance, bigotry and the promotion of obscurantist ideology that is radicalizing vulnerable Muslims around the world."

The worst mass shooting in US history left 50 people dead, in addition to the shooter, and wounded 53 others.

US media reported that the gunman, identified as Omar Mateen, a 29-year old American citizen, had pledged allegiance to the jihadist group IS.

The FBI has admitted that Mateen — who was born to Afghan parents in New York — had previously been investigated, but cleared, for ties to a US suicide bomber.