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Pakistan court orders Musharraf's release

Iran Press TV

Wed Nov 6, 2013 8:23AM GMT

A court in Pakistan has ruled to end the house arrest of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf two days after he was granted bail in a case related to his role in a 2007 attack on Islamabad's Red Mosque.

The ruling came on Wednesday, when Additional Session Judge Wajid Ali ordered that Musharraf be freed as his lawyers deposited surety bonds, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

Musharraf's lawyers said the former president is likely to be set free later in the day after the order is delivered at his house in the capital, Islamabad.

Ilyas Siddiqi, Musharraf's defense lawyer, said the former general is now a free man.

"Pervez Musharraf has been granted bail in all cases. There are no restrictions on his movement," Siddiqi said, demanding the removal of Musharraf's name from the government's exit control list.

On Monday, Islamabad District Court granted bail to Musharraf over the 2007 raid on the mosque, which left a senior cleric and 100 others dead and sparked a wave of violence across the country.

The ruling means that Musharraf is now free on bail in all cases against him, including one for the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Bhutto was killed in a gun-and-bomb attack on December 27, 2007, as she was leaving an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi. Musharraf has been accused of failing to provide enough security for Bhutto after she returned from exile on October 18, 2007.

The 70-year-old has also faced charges of illegally putting judges under house arrest after he sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, declared a state of emergency, and suspended the constitution, during a crackdown on the Judiciary in 2007.

The former army general, who seized power in a bloodless coup in October 1999, stepped down as president of the country in August 2008, about six months after his allies lost parliamentary elections in February 2008 and the new government threatened to impeach him. A year later, he left the country.

In March 2013, Musharraf returned to Pakistan after nearly four years of self-imposed exile in London and Dubai to run in the May 11 parliamentary elections. But, he was barred from running over charges dating back to his time in power.

SAB/HJL