Pervez Musharraf shifted from Islamabad to Karachi

The port city of Karachi has been on high alert with roads being cordoned off in order to secure the arrival of the former president.

It is the first time that the Musharraf, who will be staying with his daughter in Karachi, has left Islamabad after being indicted in a high treason case by a special court last month.

Musharraf is due to appear in court in person in Islamabad on Monday in the murder case of a slain Baloch nationalist leader. Should he not show he will be arrested?

His aides insisted the visit to Karachi had been pre-planned a while back. 

“He was planning to spend some time with his daughter there as his wife is in Dubai taking care of his ailing mother,” confirmed the close aide. 

“He is also supposed to undergo some diagnostic tests in a Navy-run hospital in Karachi,” the source added.

It was unclear whether Musharraf would return to the federal capital for the Monday court hearing.

Security sources close to Musharraf said that during his stay in Karachi, which is meant to last over a week - he is expected to meet family, friends and the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) office-bearers.

The Sindh government has made strict security arrangements for his arrival, including a bullet-proof car, five armoured vehicles and the deployment of 3,000 Rangers and police personnel.

Sources confirmed that there were complete preparations to transfer Musharraf from his Chak Shahzad farmhouse residence.

After his indictment on March 31, the former president was shifted from the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC), where he was under medical treatment, to the farmhouse residence in Islamabad.