Musharraf freed after seven months of house arrest

The legal woes of Pervez Musharraf lessened somewhat yesterdaywhen Pakistan’s former military ruler was finally freed from seven months of house arrest.

Mr Musharraf, who ruled the country for nine years before being forced out in 2008, had been held in his luxury mansion in the outskirts of Islamabad since April while his lawyers battled on several fronts.

On Monday he was granted bail in a case where he is accused of being involved in the death of a radical cleric during an assault on an extremist mosque in the heart of Islamabad in 2007.

The formalities required for his release from the “sub jail”, which included the payment of a bond worth $2,000, were finally completed yesterday.

It was a rare bit of good news for a man who once wielded immense power but who has suffered multiple humiliations since returning from self-exile to Pakistan in March. Not only did few people turn out to welcome him home on his return to a country he had vowed to “save” but he was also banned from standing in the country’s general election.

Mr Musharraf’s problems are far from over, however.

A ban on the former army chief travelling outside the country remains in place. There had been persistent speculation that the government or the judiciary, both said to be under pressure from the powerful military, would find a way to allow him slip back into comfortable exile in his homes in London and Dubai. – (Guardian)