The husband of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been put under house arrest after a court ordered his detention in a murder case.
The move came just a month after he had been freed on bail.
Mr Asif Ali Zardari was arrested at the airport near the capital Islamabad where he had been due to address a major opposition rally that could have been politically embarrassing to President General Pervez Musharraf.
Mr Zardari's detention will shatter hopes of a reconciliation between Ms Bhutto's party and Gen Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999 and is currently facing criticism for reneging on a promise to stand down as army chief.
Ms Bhutto was twice elected prime minister. Both her governments were dismissed for allegations of corruption and misrule in the first half of the 1990s. She lives in exile in Britain and the United Arab Emirates to avoid arrest in corruption cases. Mr Zardari, Ms Bhutto's former minister for investment, is also accused of making money illegally while his wife was the prime minister.
About 1,000 Bhutto party supporters clashed with police at the airport, located in the city of Rawalpindi, before Mr Zardari's arrival.
Last month, in move widely seen as the result of a deal with the government, Mr Zardari was released from eight years in custody after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the last of a series of corruption cases that his supporters claim are politically motivated.
But a Karachi court ordered his re-arrest today.
Mr Zardari has emerged a prominent opposition figure since his release, and has irked Gen Musharraf by calling for fresh national elections in 2005, two years ahead of schedule. Also, his rally planned near the capital today would have come at a sensitive time.
Gen Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led war on terrorism, is under fire from political opponents after declaring last week he would not stand down as army chief by the end of the year as promised a year ago.
The president said he needed to retain the uniform - the source of most of his power - to pursue his fight against Islamic militants and peace talks with India.