Pakistan’s Musharraf To Land In Karachi Prison On Return: Minister

Islamabad, Jan 11, IRNA – A Pakistani provincial Minister has said that former president Pervez Musharraf will 'land in a prison' in the port city of Karachi on his return to the country. Pervez Musharraf Sunday announced to end his nearly three-year self exile and to return to the country between January 27 and 30. Musharraf made the announcement while speaking to his thousands of supporters in Karachi while video link from Dubai. The former President said he will land at Karachi airport. Manzoor Wasan, Home Minister for southern Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, said the provincial government has arrest warrant for Pervez Musharraf and he will be taken into custody as he arrives. Speaking to the reporters in Karachi, Wassan said that the provincial had received warrants for Musharraf’s arrest in October and arrangements have been made to send him to Landhi Jail in Karachi. The former army chief and the president who ruled Pakistan 1999-2008 is wanted in at least two cases pending in local courts, including his alleged involvement in former premier Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. He has also been charged in the 2006 murder of a tribal elder Nawab Akbar Bugti. Musharraf rejected all the charges as politically-motivated and vowed to defend himself in courts. The former general is wanted in various high-profile cases pending in local courts, including his alleged involvement in former premier Benazir Bhutto’s murder, the interior minister had said. Interior Minister Rehman Malik had earlier stated that, “Proclaimed offenders like Musharraf should be arrested.” Musharraf had been living in exile since 2008 in Britain and UAE. He had launched the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) party in exile. A government prosecutor also said on Saturday that Pervez Musharraf will be arrested on arrival in connection with the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. “Musharraf is a proclaimed offender and there’s no need for a warrant for this arrest,” Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, prosecutor at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) told reporters./end