Pakistan court puts former president Musharraf under house arrest

Pakistani police have arrested Pervez Musharraf, the former president, at his residence on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, and presented him in court, officials say.

Officials have declared Musharraf's home a jail, which is allowed under Pakistani law, and he will be held there under house arrest, a police officer said on Friday.

The arrest was made in connection with his alleged involvement in the decision to dismiss senior judges, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court, in 2007.

Television footage on Friday showed Musharraf, dressed in traditional clothes, being escorted by uniformed police officers to an Islamabad court.

"General Musharraf has been sent on a two-day judicial remand and he will stay at his farmhouse," a spokesman for his All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) party said.

It is the first time that the Pakistani judiciary has ordered the arrest of a former army chief of staff.

A judge issued Musharraf's arrest order on Thursday.

The district court judge instructed police to keep him in their custody for two days and then present him before an anti-terrorism court, one of his lawyers said.

Six years ago, Musharraf declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution.

He was concerned the judges would challenge his recent re-election as president, and cited the growing Taliban insurgency in the country as justification for the state of emergency.

Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan from 1999-2008, returned to the country last month from nearly four years of self-imposed exile in the hope of running in next month's general elections.

His attempt to run for office has been rejected by election officials and he has instead found himself battling a host of legal challenges relating to his years in power.

"It [Musharraf's return] has cast a long shadow over the elections," our correspondent said.

Pakistan's top court is already hearing a petition demanding that Musharraf face trial for treason for imposing emergency law in 2007, punishable by death or life in prison.

He is also accused of conspiracy to murder opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and over the death of a rebel leader during a 2006 military operation.

He had been granted bail repeatedly since his homecoming on March 24.

Musharraf's supporters say the latest arrest order was nothing more than a settling of scores for his dismissal of the judges.