Musharraf walks away after arrest order

ISLAMABAD, April 18: General (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Thursday walked away from the premises of the Islamabad High Court after Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui dismissed his application for further bail extension in the judges detention case. Immediately after the bail cancellation, police tried to reach the former military ruler but he was escorted by his personal security out of the court premises towards his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad. “Islamabad High Court has cancelled Musharraf’s bail and ordered his arrest in the judges’ detention case today,” Mohammad Amjad, secretary-general of Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League party, told Reuters. According to police, after departing from the IHC’s premises, Musharraf had reached his farmhouse on the outskirts of Islamabad and police were expected to carry out his arrest. Moreover, lawyers in the capital chanted slogans and cheered the court’s directive of bail cancellation whereas the decision was seen as a welcome development by political leaders who have called upon the retired general to surrender to authorities. Earlier last week, the former military ruler was granted a six-day interim bail after he surrendered before the court in the judges’ detention case in which he had been declared a proclaimed offender. Judges’ detention case: The case is based on an FIR against the retired general registered in August 11, 2009, on the complaint of Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam Ghumman advocate. He had asked the police to initiate legal proceedings against Musharraf for detaining over 60 judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, after proclamation of a state of emergency in the country on November 3, 2007. Musharraf returned to Pakistan last month after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest the May 11 general election.]]>