ISLAMABAD — Former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf criticized allegations against him as "politically motivated" Friday, after his arrest in a case involving his decision to fire senior judges while in power.
Musharraf was arrested a day after he made a dramatic escape from a court in Islamabad on Thursday to avoid being detained. Musharraf fled the Islamabad High Court in a speeding vehicle and holed up in his home on the outskirts of the city after a judge rejected his bail and ordered his arrest.
It was a new low in Musharraf's troubled return from self-imposed exile last month to attempt a political comeback in the upcoming parliamentary election.
There were conflicting reports about how Musharraf was arrested Friday.
Police said they arrested Musharraf overnight from his home and delivered him to a magistrate in Islamabad on Friday morning. But the secretary general of Musharraf's party, Mohammed Amjad, claimed the former military ruler surrendered himself before the magistrate.
Local TV video showed Musharraf entering the court surrounded by a heavy security detachment of police and paramilitary soldiers.
The magistrate instructed police to keep Musharraf in their custody and present him before an anti-terrorism court, said one of his lawyers, Malik Qamar Afzal.