Islamabad: On a day of high drama, former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf fled from the Islamabad High Court on Thursday after it had ordered his arrest in a 2007 case and remained closeted in his farmhouse.
According to reports coming in, police in large numbers have reached Musharraf’s farmhouse with the arrest order, indicating that the arrest of the former Pakistani president is imminent.
Earlier in the day, the Islamabad High Court dismissed Musharraf's interim bail extension plea and ordered his arrest in the case related to the detention of senior judges, Geo News reported.
Accompanied by his guards, Musharraf, 69, appeared before the court to seek an extension in his bail. However, the court dismissed his plea and ordered his arrest.
The former president lost no time in fleeing from the court premises in a black, bullet-proof SUV with tinted glasses. Escorted by his bodyguards, Musharraf zoomed out of the court premises as security personnel looked on and TV cameras whirred away.
The former Army chief and president, who had returned to Pakistan last month after four years of self-imposed exile, later reached his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad on the outskirts of Islamabad.
Police promptly took up guard outside Musharraf's farmhouse and blocked the way.
As the drama unfolded, Musharraf's lawyers went to the Supreme Court to file a pre-arrest bail application so that he does not have surrender to the police.
However, the apex court returned the 14-page bail application as the timings for the Registrar's office had ended.
His lawyers are now likely to again submit the application on Friday.
Dozens of supporters chanted "this is injustice" and "long live Musharraf" as his office appealed against the order in the Supreme Court, denouncing the decision as motivated by "personal vendettas".
"We expect this unwarranted judicial activism, seemingly motivated by personal vendettas... will cease and the Supreme Court, without prejudice, will immediately grant necessary relief," his office said.
A spokesman for his All Pakistan Muslim League told a news agency that if the Supreme Court upholds the order, then Musharraf is expected to be put under house arrest, describing the retired general as "composed and confident".
"I think if an arrest is necessary, the authorities will declare the farmhouse a sub-jail," APML spokesman Muhammad Amjad said.
"Musharraf did not flee the court. Actually there was no police official to arrest him and nobody tried to arrest him," he added.
Musharraf's spokesperson Reza Bukhari told journalists that he was "under protection from the Pakistan government".
Musharraf, he said, would follow all the rules of law and had not fled the court. He was escorted by the Pakistani security establishment, Bukhari said, adding that the court had not acted with wisdom.
According to reports coming in, police in large numbers have reached Musharraf’s farmhouse with the arrest order, indicating that the arrest of the former Pakistani president is imminent.
Earlier in the day, the Islamabad High Court dismissed Musharraf's interim bail extension plea and ordered his arrest in the case related to the detention of senior judges, Geo News reported.
Accompanied by his guards, Musharraf, 69, appeared before the court to seek an extension in his bail. However, the court dismissed his plea and ordered his arrest.
The former president lost no time in fleeing from the court premises in a black, bullet-proof SUV with tinted glasses. Escorted by his bodyguards, Musharraf zoomed out of the court premises as security personnel looked on and TV cameras whirred away.
The former Army chief and president, who had returned to Pakistan last month after four years of self-imposed exile, later reached his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad on the outskirts of Islamabad.
Police promptly took up guard outside Musharraf's farmhouse and blocked the way.
As the drama unfolded, Musharraf's lawyers went to the Supreme Court to file a pre-arrest bail application so that he does not have surrender to the police.
However, the apex court returned the 14-page bail application as the timings for the Registrar's office had ended.
His lawyers are now likely to again submit the application on Friday.
Dozens of supporters chanted "this is injustice" and "long live Musharraf" as his office appealed against the order in the Supreme Court, denouncing the decision as motivated by "personal vendettas".
"We expect this unwarranted judicial activism, seemingly motivated by personal vendettas... will cease and the Supreme Court, without prejudice, will immediately grant necessary relief," his office said.
A spokesman for his All Pakistan Muslim League told a news agency that if the Supreme Court upholds the order, then Musharraf is expected to be put under house arrest, describing the retired general as "composed and confident".
"I think if an arrest is necessary, the authorities will declare the farmhouse a sub-jail," APML spokesman Muhammad Amjad said.
"Musharraf did not flee the court. Actually there was no police official to arrest him and nobody tried to arrest him," he added.
Musharraf's spokesperson Reza Bukhari told journalists that he was "under protection from the Pakistan government".
Musharraf, he said, would follow all the rules of law and had not fled the court. He was escorted by the Pakistani security establishment, Bukhari said, adding that the court had not acted with wisdom.
