Warrant for Pervez Musharraf valid till his arrest: Pakistan tells Interpol

ISLAMABAD: An arrest warrant issued for former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf by an anti-terrorism court in connection with the Benazir Bhutto assassination case will remain valid till its compliance, the Interpol has been informed by authorities here.

"The Interpol, through a letter, had asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) about the expiry date of the arrest warrant. In response, we have conveyed to them that it will remain valid till the arrest of Musharraf," Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali said.

Ali, a senior public prosecutor of the FIA, said yesterday that the warrant will remain effective till Musharraf, currently living in self-exile outside the country, is handed over to Pakistan or unless the trial court cancels the warrant.

The Interpol has also been informed that the warrant was issued by the anti-terrorism court in light of FIA's challan in the case related to the 2007 assassination of former Premier Benazir Bhutto, he said.

It was issued due to Musharraf's continued absence from court proceedings, he added.

Ali said the FIA had sent the arrest warrant for Musharraf to the Interpol along with evidence, especially revelations by a foreign journalist and a copy of the former President's email sent to Bhutto.

Musharraf has been living in London and Dubai since early 2009. When he left Pakistan a slew of criminal and civil cases were filed against him across the country.

He was declared a "proclaimed offender" or fugitive for failing to cooperate with investigators probing Bhutto's assassination.

The former military ruler has also been accused of negligence in providing security to Bhutto when she returned to Pakistan from self-exile in October 2007.