Pervez Musharraf arrested, remanded to two days in custody

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was today arrested from his farmhouse in a case relating to sacking of judges, a day after he dramatically fled the court to avoid detention, and remanded to two days in custody, becoming the first ex-army chief to face such action.

Police officials arrested the 69-year-old former military strongman this morning and took him to the court of judicial magistrate Muhammad Abbas Shah.

After hearing arguments by Musharraf's lawyer and the counsel of several persons who have filed petitions against him, the magistrate sent the former army chief on "transit remand" for two days.

The magistrate also directed police to produce Musharraf in an anti-terrorism court in two days as the Islamabad High Court had yesterday directed authorities to charge him under the Anti-Terrorism Act for his actions during the 2007 emergency.

Musharraf can appeal in the Supreme Court against the magistrate's order.

The arrest came a day after the Islamabad High Court revoked Musharraf's bail for not cooperating with police officials investigating a case registered against him for detaining 60 judges, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, during the emergency.

Footage on television showed Musharraf being led into the magistrate's small and dimly-lit office by dozens of policemen and paramilitary personnel.

Musharraf looked shaken and was wearing a waistcoat over a shalwar-kameez.

He was also seen emerging from the magistrate's office and heading for his car. Musharraf waited in his car for some time as the magistrate initially reserved his decision.

However, he was driven to his farmhouse by his security detail before the magistrate issued the order for his detention shortly after 9.15 am.

Officials said Musharraf would be detained at his farmhouse at Chak Shahzad on the outskirts of Islamabad as he faced threats to his life and could not be sent to prison.