[h=3]By SAEED SHAH[/h]ISLAMABAD—A Pakistani judge Thursday ordered the arrest of former President Pervez Musharraf, prompting the man who once ruled the country as a military dictator to flee the courtroom.
Mr. Musharraf's security detail, which includes paramilitary personnel, helped him to escape from the court premises in Islamabad. Television footage showed Mr. Musharraf, a former army chief, walking out of the courtroom and into his black SUV, which then sped out of the gates of the Islamabad High Court.
Associated PressPakistan's former president and military ruler Pervez Musharraf leaves court Wednesday. Mr. Musharraf fled from a courtroom Thursday after a court revoked his bail.
The case on trial Thursday related to Mr. Musharraf's 2007 decision to fire Pakistan's senior judiciary, including the current chief justice, and put them under detention. Protests against that move eventually forced Mr. Musharraf to yield power to an elected government in 2008.
Mr. Musharraf, 69, returned to Pakistan in March, after four years of self-imposed exile, aiming to run in the parliamentary elections next month. In recent weeks, however, electoral officials or courts barred him from standing in all four constituencies that he had planned to contest.
Mr. Musharraf has also been tied up in multiple cases, in courts across the country, relating to his eight years in power. The charges he faces include murder and treason—allegations he has denied. Until Thursday's arrest warrant, he was allowed to move around freely on bail.
After fleeing the Islamabad courtroom, Mr. Musharraf was reported to have reached his heavily protected mansion on the outskirts of Pakistan's capital. Lawyers outside the Islamabad High Court protested his escape.
European Pressphoto AgencySupporters of Pervez Musharraf rallied in Karachi on Wednesday.
It is unclear who would actually arrest Mr. Musharraf, or whether he could be placed under house arrest. Police may be reluctant to act against a former army chief in a country where the military has ruled for long periods—a hesitation that appeared to allow him to flee the courtroom Thursday.
Mr. Musharraf's escape from court "indicates his assumption that as a former army chief and military dictator he can evade accountability for abuses," said Ali Dayan Hasan of Human Rights Watch.
Earlier this week, Mr. Musharraf told a news conference that he was prepared to go to prison. He added: "Whatever decisions I made, I did it for Pakistan."
Write to Saeed Shah at saeed [email][email protected][/email]
Mr. Musharraf's security detail, which includes paramilitary personnel, helped him to escape from the court premises in Islamabad. Television footage showed Mr. Musharraf, a former army chief, walking out of the courtroom and into his black SUV, which then sped out of the gates of the Islamabad High Court.
Associated PressPakistan's former president and military ruler Pervez Musharraf leaves court Wednesday. Mr. Musharraf fled from a courtroom Thursday after a court revoked his bail.
The case on trial Thursday related to Mr. Musharraf's 2007 decision to fire Pakistan's senior judiciary, including the current chief justice, and put them under detention. Protests against that move eventually forced Mr. Musharraf to yield power to an elected government in 2008.
Mr. Musharraf, 69, returned to Pakistan in March, after four years of self-imposed exile, aiming to run in the parliamentary elections next month. In recent weeks, however, electoral officials or courts barred him from standing in all four constituencies that he had planned to contest.
Mr. Musharraf has also been tied up in multiple cases, in courts across the country, relating to his eight years in power. The charges he faces include murder and treason—allegations he has denied. Until Thursday's arrest warrant, he was allowed to move around freely on bail.
After fleeing the Islamabad courtroom, Mr. Musharraf was reported to have reached his heavily protected mansion on the outskirts of Pakistan's capital. Lawyers outside the Islamabad High Court protested his escape.
European Pressphoto AgencySupporters of Pervez Musharraf rallied in Karachi on Wednesday.
It is unclear who would actually arrest Mr. Musharraf, or whether he could be placed under house arrest. Police may be reluctant to act against a former army chief in a country where the military has ruled for long periods—a hesitation that appeared to allow him to flee the courtroom Thursday.
Mr. Musharraf's escape from court "indicates his assumption that as a former army chief and military dictator he can evade accountability for abuses," said Ali Dayan Hasan of Human Rights Watch.
Earlier this week, Mr. Musharraf told a news conference that he was prepared to go to prison. He added: "Whatever decisions I made, I did it for Pakistan."
Write to Saeed Shah at saeed [email][email protected][/email]