A day after Judicial Magistrate court slapped former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf with terror charges for proclaiming emergency in 2007 and placing 60 members of the superior judiciary under house arrest, the anti terrorism court on Saturday sent him on judicial remand till 4 May.
"The court has sent General Musharraf on judicial remand for two weeks," Muhammad Amjad, spokesman for Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League party, told reporters.
"Our lawyers denied the allegations that General Musharraf sacked judges and kept them and their families under house arrest for six months. It is absolutely untrue," he added.
Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi of the anti-terrorism court sent Musharraf on judicial remand after hearing the arguments by Musharraf's counsel and the lawyer appointed by several others, who filed petitions against him in connection with 2007's emergency and house arrest of several judges.
The former Pakistan President's lawyer Qamar Afzal while defending his client said that Musharraf was co-operating with the investigations and that he should be sent on judicial custody citing threat to his life. Meanwhile defence lawyer Ashraf Gujjar argued that the former president should be placed under police custody as fresh investigation is required on his decision to impose emergency in 2007.
Musharraf, who returned to Pakistan in March, ending four years of self-imposed exile, was rejected bail by the High Court on 18 April . The same day, the court issued an arrest warrant against him.
The 69-year-old former Pakistani President, who was in power between 1999 and 2008, evaded the arrest and fled the courtroom shielded by his commandos who ushered him to a black SUV and drove him to his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad on the outskirts of Islamabad.
However, on Friday, the Ex-military dictator was arrested and taken to a court in Islamabad during which he was booked under terror charges for connection with the case of imposed "emergency" and house arrest of judges during his reign.
Ordering him to be placed under house arrest, the Court had on Friday directed the police to produce him before the anti-terrorism court in two days. However, on Friday evening, Musharraf was taken into police custody and was transported to police lines headquarters where he stayed at the officers' mess.
It is not yet clear, where the former military strongman will be placed in judicial custody as the local administration reportedly has advised the Islamabad commissioner to declare Musharraf's farmhouse as a "sub-jail" so that he could be detained there for security reasons.
Musharraf returned to Pakistan with the aim of contesting the elections scheduled to be held in May. However, he was barred from contesting in the elections owing to his legal cases which also included conspiracy to murder opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
