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The
police officials informed the magistrate that they did not need
physical custody of Musharraf and he could be placed in judicial
custody.
However,
lawyers for several persons who have filed petitions against Musharraf
for imposing emergency in 2007 and detaining over 60 members of the
superior judiciary contended that he should kept in police custody.
They also questioned why Musharraf had not been handcuffed by police after his arrest.
Musharraf's
lawyer Qamar Afzal argued that his client should be kept in judicial
custody as there were serious threats to his life.
The
magistrate reserved his verdict in the matter and Musharraf left the
court complex after waiting for some time for a decision.
Footage
on television showed Musharraf being led into the magistrate's small
office by dozens of policemen and paramilitary personnel.
Musharraf looked shaken and was wearing a waistcoat over a shalwar-kameez.
Sources
told that authorities had asked for Musharraf to be placed in judicial
custody as this would allow the administration of Islamabad to declare
his farmhouse at Chak Shahzad a 'sub-jail' and detain him there.
Authorities
have been focussing on this measure as officials are not keen on
holding Musharraf at a jail due to threats to his life.
The
arrest came a day after the Islamabad High Court ordered the arrest of
Musharraf for not cooperating with police officials investigating a case
registered against him for detaining dozens of judges, including
Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, during the 2007
emergency.
However,
immediately after Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui revoked his pre-arrest
bail and ordered police to detain him, Musharraf and his security detail
fled from the Islamabad High Court complex and drove to his farmhouse.
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