Former President of Pakistan General (retd) Pervez Musharraf on 18 April escaped from the premises of the Islamabad High Court after the cancellation of his bail application by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui in the judges detention case. Immediately after the bail cancellation, police tried to reach the former military ruler but he was escorted by his personal security, fleeing in his bullet-proof black four-wheeler. According to police, after departing from the IHC’s premises, Musharraf had reached his farmhouse in ChakShahzad on the outskirts of Islamabad. Lawyers in the capital chanted slogans and cheered the court’s directive of bail cancellation whereas the decision was seen as a welcome development by political leaders who have called upon the retired general to surrender to authorities.
Musharraf was arrested early the next morning; 24 hours after the High Court had revoked his bail. Given the threats to his life, he will be kept under house arrest in his farmhouse which has been turned into a sub-jail. He was produced before a judicial magistrate and granted two days remand. This is the first time a military dictator has had to face the consequences of his actions. Civilian presidents and prime ministers have met with this fate more than once in the past. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have all been imprisoned and spent time in jail.