ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf was on Thursday ordered to be arrested by a court in a case over the imposition of emergency rule in 2007, but evaded being taken into custody with his bodyguards whisking him away before the police could act.
The Islamabad High Court rejected Gen. Musharraf’s plea for extension of bail in connection with the sacking of over 60 judges during the emergency.
Dismissing his application, the bench ordered the police to arrest him immediately.
Soon after the court order, Gen. Musharraf’s security team quickly rushed him out of the courtroom to his black SUV without being stopped.
Gen. Musharraf’s motorcade then drove out of the court complex in the presence of a battery of armed security personnel.
TV news channels reported that Gen. Musharraf’s motorcade drove from the court to his farmhouse at Chak Shahzad on the outskirts of Islamabad.
A large number of Gen. Musharraf’s supporters, gathered at the court complex, scuffled with lawyers, who called on police to implement the High Court’s order to arrest the former President.
