Lal Masjid case: Musharraf's custody extended till Wednesday

Islamabad: A Pakistani court has extended till 30 October the custody of Pervez Musharraf in the Lal Masjid case and ordered the next hearing to be held at his farmhouse, where the former President is being detained. “The judicial magistrate extended his custody till October 30. He also said the next hearing of the case on November 8 would be held at his Chak Shahzad farmhouse, which has already been converted into a sub-jail,” Ilyas Siddiqui, one of Musharraf’s lawyers, told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_1195879” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. AP[/caption] The custody was extended yesterday during a hearing at the magistrate’s court here. Musharraf was not produced in court for security concerns. Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League party said he would remain in the country and fight all cases against him even if he gets bail. However, many believe he could flee the country. The Interior Ministry recently confirmed Musharraf was on its Exit Control List, meaning he cannot fly out without permission from courts. The list has names of people barred from leaving the country. Musharraf has been under arrest for nearly six months at his farmhouse, guarded by nearly 300 security personnel, including soldiers and snipers. He was granted bail in three major cases registered against him over the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation and the imposition of emergency in 2007. When he was close to possible release, Islamabad Police arrested him in another case over the killing of Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the head cleric of the radical Lal Masjid, during a military crackdown in 2007. Musharraf, who was then army chief and President, had ordered the crackdown on extremists holed up in the Lal Masjid. About 100 people, most of them extremists, were killed in the operation. On the orders of Islamabad High Court, a case was registered against him last month, charging him with the murder of Ghazi and his mother. PTI