Not welcome: Govt warns Musharraf against homecoming

Interior minister says Musharraf was declared a proclaimed offender by the court.

ISLAMABAD: As the former president pledged to return by the month’s end, the government on Sunday attempted to deter him with the threat of a ‘possible arrest.’

“Proclaimed offenders like Musharraf should be arrested,” said Interior Minister Rehman Malik while speaking to the media. “He will have to answer many questions on his return to Pakistan,” Malik said.

The former general is wanted in various high-profile cases pending in local courts, including his alleged involvement in former premier Benazir Bhutto’s murder, the interior minister said.

Musharraf has already been declared ‘proclaimed absconder’ by the local courts, Malik added. Earlier, senior special prosecutor Azhar Chaudhry also said that Musharraf will be arrested on his return to Pakistan.

Azhar, who is representing the federation in Benazir Bhutto’s murder case, said there is no need to issue new warrants for his arrest since the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi has already issued arrest warrants in the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2012.