Musharraf Arrested Over Accusations of Election Rigging While Ruling Pakistan
Pervez Musharraf, the former Pakistani military ruler, was taken into custody by security forces in connection with a case concerned with his role in the firing of senior judges and officials while he was in power.
Musharraf was thought to be trying to work his way into the elections that are supposed to be held in Pakistan in May, but was arrested after he left the Islamabad High Court when a judge denied his request for bail and ordered he be taken into custody.
"He's been shifted to a police guest house for two days of remand," Mohammad Amjad, Musharraf's spokesman, told Reuters.
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Reports from Pakistan indicate that police arrested Musharraf from his home and then took him to a magistrate in Islamabad on Friday morning. One of Musharraf's lawyers, Malik Qamar Afzal, revealed that the magistrate ordered police to keep Musharraf in custody and ready him for an appearance before an anti-terrorism court.
Musharraf has maintained his innocence and insisted that the allegations targeting him are politically motivated and baseless.
"These allegations are politically motivated, and I will fight them in the trial court, where the truth will eventually prevail," read a message posted on Musharraf's Facebook page Friday after being detained.
Musharraf came to power after a successful coup in 1999 and was in power for almost a decade before being forced out in 2008.
The allegations against Musharraf include his role in the dismissal of senior judges, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court in 2007, when Musharraf enacted a state of emergency and suspended the constitution.
Musharraf also faces charges related to inadequate security in the death of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a suicide attack in 2007. He was also implicated in the death of a nationalist leader in Baluchistan in 2006.
